The Sword of the Soul
by Samuraiko
Summary: A village where hope is lost. A world where money is power. An age where honor is forgotten. Farmers will defy bandits, samurai will defy an Empire, and one man and one woman will defy everything they have ever believed for the one they believe in.
1. Chance Encounter

_While in the merchant city of Kougakyo, Okamoto Katsushiro and Shimada Kambei continue their difficult search for samurai to join their cause, when they meet a samuraiko on the streets of Kougakyo. But this woman is clearly no down-on-her-luck ronin. On a Musha Shugyo (a quest for enlightenment), her wandering has brought her to Kougakyo... and to the samurai. (Note: for the gamers here, Nasami is a character of mine from the game "Legend of the Five Rings.")_

_There's a forum under the SAMURAI 7 page about my story, for those of you who are always sending me suggestions and ideas and comments and such (these go beyond reviews). So check it out!_

_Last but not least, each chapter of the story is written to music. This chapter's music is "O For a Muse of Fire" from HENRY V by Patrick Doyle, while Nasami's 'theme song' is "The PeonyHouse," from HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS (kudos to Sleepwalking Dreamer for the suggestion). _

**Note for all the music hunting fans: all of the music for THE SWORD OF THE SOUL is now available on the Multimedia page of my website as a Windows Media Player playlist file. Everything from Nasami's theme all the way through the latest chapter is now accessible. Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter One_

"It's been a long day, _sensei_," Katsushiro sighed to Kambei as they headed back to the inn where the others waited. "No matter how many samurai we speak to, it seems like none of them are willing to help."

"This is a city of merchants, Katsushiro, everything here revolves around money, not bushido." Kambei gestured to the city around them. "The samurai caste is slowly dwindling away, both in numbers and in ethics. When you have no place in the world, you either learn to adapt or die. It is hard to live on a diet of virtue alone."

"But aren't samurai supposed to live by the code of bushido at all times?"

"In theory, yes. In practice, well, that is a different matter," Kambei said flatly.

"Then they shouldn't call themselves samurai," Katsushiro said in disgust. "It's disgraceful."

"Any more disgraceful than a man calling himself samurai when he is not actually one?" Kambei asked with a raised eyebrow, and Katsushiro had the grace to blush.

"To be samurai is more than just a matter of birthright, _sensei_… I believe that what truly makes a samurai is what is in his heart. If you follow the tenets of bushido, truly and not just 'in theory,' then that is what makes a true samurai."

"Well spoken, Katsushiro, but it will take more than words to defeat the Nobuseri."

Katsushiro sighed, chastened. "Yes, _sensei_."

"Such low-spirited words… and from samurai, no less. How disappointing." A woman's voice came from behind them, and Kambei and Katsushiro turned, their hands automatically resting on their katanas.

Leaning casually against one of the pillars stood a woman, barely taller than five feet five inches, wearing pale blue and silver armor, a daisho thrust into her obi. Her dark blue eyes seemed to sparkle with humor, and her long white hair was gathered in a maiden's foxtail that reached her waist.

"A woman samurai?" Katsushiro said in disbelief, and the woman's smile broadened. As he looked closer, he could see faint scar lines across her face, and he was oddly reminded of their companion Katayama Gorobei.

"What, you think that only men can have a heart of courage and a soul of honor? Nonsense."

"She has you there, Katsushiro," Kambei said with amusement. He turned to the woman and bowed slightly, who bowed to them both in return. "Indeed, I have not seen a samuraiko since the Great War, but as I had been telling my young friend here, we of the samurai caste are much fewer since those days."

The woman sobered. "True enough. But just because the war is over doesn't mean that samurai now have no purpose anymore. We just have to look harder to find it." She shrugged and smiled again. "Besides, I could hardly make it as a geisha with this face. Scars and tattoos don't make a woman good marriage material, not to mention that masculine pride often gets in the way when a woman is as strong as her husband."

Kambei smiled in return. "If I might ask, what is your name?"

She straightened her shoulders and rested her hands before her on the crossed pommels of her katana and wakizashi. "My name is Nasami."

Katsushiro finally managed to get his wits about him. "I am Okamoto Katsushiro, and this is Shimada Kambei-_sensei_. If we might impose on your goodwill for a few moments, we have a proposition for you, Nasami-_dono_."

"A proposition? My, and we just met." Nasami batted her eyes at the young man and he blushed a bright red. Kambei couldn't help himself, and started laughing.

"You know, I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like you before, Nasami-_dono_. Would you join us for rice this evening?"

"I'd be delighted, Kambei-_san_. Lead the way."

* * *

"A woman samurai?" Kirara was astonished. "I had no idea that women could be warriors!" 

Her little sister Komachi openly stared at the samuraiko. "Well, it's no wonder she's a samurai. She's so old that nobody would marry her!"

Nasami choked on her rice.

Aghast, Kirara lunged at the little girl and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Komachi, hush!"

Rikichi, their companion, immediately prostrated himself before Nasami. "My humblest apologies, great samurai, please forgive our-" His words were cut short as Nasami burst out laughing.

"The little one certainly speaks her mind, doesn't she? And no, Komachi-_chan_, I'm not that old. My hair has been white since I was twenty-three years old."

Kikuchiyo snorted. "The sprout always says what she thinks. But judging by the look of you, she's in good company there."

Gorobei was assessing the young woman closely. "Nasami… that name sounds familiar. I don't suppose by any chance that you are the same Nasami who bested a samurai twice her size in a… most unorthodox duel?"

Nasami was delighted. "Yes, how did you know?"

"The whole city was talking about it for at least two days afterwards."

"A duel, Gorobei-_dono_?" Katsushiro was intrigued.

The older samurai's laugh was deep and rich. "Oh, yes. You see, this big samurai, not unlike our Kiku here, had been enjoying his sake a little too much, and started creating a scene in a local teahouse. When the owner tried to stop him, the samurai started waving his katana around and threatened to kill the owner for daring to lay his hands on a samurai. He challenged the teahouse owner to a duel, knowing perfectly well that the owner would lose, but Nasami here volunteered to fight on the owner's behalf."

"Well, someone had to do something," Nasami murmured. "Men like that give all samurai a bad name."

"The samurai was too drunk to realize that she was clearly the more skilled swordsman, or else too proud to admit it. At any rate, she and the samurai stepped out into the courtyard to fight, with the whole clientele of the teahouse gathering to watch, because if she lost, she would most likely be killed, and the teahouse owner along with her."

"So what happened, Gorobei-_sama_?" Kirara asked breathlessly. "Did she defeat the drunken samurai?"

"Oh she defeated him, all right. She modified the classic Iaijutsu strike before he had a chance to blink, and knocked him out cold!"

"Iau… Iai…" Komachi tried to get her mouth around the big word. "What's that mean?"

Kambei stood up. "Iaijutsu is a dueling strike, where the samurai draws the katana, attacks, and resheathes it in a single move. Like this." With remarkable speed, the samurai drew his katana, made a single slashing motion in the air, and had the katana back in his saya before any of them realized what had happened. All of them gasped in astonishment, even Nasami.

"Well done, Kambei-_san_, I doubt even my old _sensei_ could have done that better."

"My goodness," Rikichi gasped, looking at Nasami. "And… and you attacked like that, great samurai?"

Nasami looked at the peasant farmer. "Oh, not exactly like that. But the same idea in principle." She also stood up. "You see, an Iaijutsu strike is meant to slash, to attack with the blade in such a fashion as to disable one's opponent, anything from disarming him to beheading him." She demonstrated with an Iaijutsu strike of her own, just as fast as Kambei's, and all of the samurai were impressed. "However, I knew that as drunk as he was, that samurai was expecting me to do that, so I slightly altered the stroke."

This time, she drew in slow, deliberate movements, and Rikichi watched as instead of altering the angle of her stroke to allow her to slash, she kept the angle of the blade consistent. "Instead of slashing at him, I hit him face on with the pommel of the katana and broke his nose. Knocked him unconscious."

Gorobei's laughter filled the room. "And to add further insult to injury, she rifled his pockets and gave all his money to the teahouse owner for the damages!"

"A most unusual samurai, indeed," Kambei said thoughtfully. He and Gorobei exchanged glances, and then he turned back to Nasami.

"Nasami-_dono_, would you be interested in helping us in a fight against the Nobuseri? Someone with your skill and... resourcefulness, shall we say, would be a useful ally in our cause."

Nasami considered, clearly tempted. "Your offer is a most enticing one, Kambei-_san_, but it is one I have to think about."

"I understand that it is not the typical offer for samurai," Gorobei stated. After all, the only thing that the farmers can promise you is all the rice that you can eat. There will be no fame or wealth as the spoils of this battle."

The samuraiko shook her head. "It is not money or prestige that I care about, Gorobei-_san_. I have enough of the former, and no small amount of the latter, either. But I am on a quest for enlightenment, which is why I have left my status and my family name behind me." She nodded to Katsushiro. "However, as your young friend so aptly stated before, one is a samurai in one's heart, even if not by one's name. I cannot leave that part of me behind as well."

She sighed, then looked at the three peasants. "However, who is to say that my enlightenment is not to be found at Kanna Village?" Her eyes fell on Kirara's dowsing crystal. "You, Kirara-_san_, you are a Mikumari, are you not? A water priestess?"

Kirara nodded.

"From what Kambei-_san _and Katsushiro-_san _have said, you have been using your dowsing crystal to determine if the samurai you encounter are ones that will help you. What does your crystal say about me?"

"You believe that my dowsing crystal knows such things?" Kirara was startled. "I… I thought that most samurai disdained such a thing."

"After seeing a companion of mine speaking to the elements, very little surprises me anymore," Nasami chuckled. "Remind me sometime to introduce you to Isawa Ujiro, a fellow samurai of mine."

The white-haired samuraiko glanced back at the samurai. "If your time permits it, give me three days to consider it and to meditate upon my path. If it is my karma to join you, then my sword is yours. If it is not my karma, I can only give you my blessing."

_To be continued_…


	2. Sparring Practice

_While in the merchant city of Kougakyo, Shimada Kambei and the others have met a most unusual samuraiko named Nasami while searching for samurai to help them fight the Nobuseri. After asking for three days to make her decision about joining their cause, Nasami has agreed to remain in Kougakyo while the others continue their search..._

_The music for Chapter Two is "Combat Training" from LADY DEATH._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Two_

"Still no luck, great samurai?" Rikichi asked as Kambei and Gorobei returned from another fruitless day of searching for samurai. Wearily they entered Masamune's workshop and sat down, resting their katanas beside them.

"Unfortunately, yes," Kambei replied, nodding to Kirara as she handed each samurai a bowl of rice. "But we will persist. We have five more samurai to find."

"Four," Kikuchiyo boomed from where he sat. He glared at both Kambei and Gorobei, leaning over to scratch himself. "Don't forget, you've got me."

"As if we could forget," Gorobei said with resignation.

Komachi giggled. "And Kiku is big enough for at least two samurai!"

"As I have said before, Komachi-_chan_, we will not be taking Kikuchiyo with us to Kanna Village, nor Katsushiro for that matter." Then Kambei glanced around the workshop, suddenly realizing that the young man was nowhere to be seen. "Speaking of which, where is Katsushiro? Not still searching for samurai?"

Suddenly a loud ringing sound came from the small courtyard behind Masamune's shop, and Kambei and Gorobei both started in surprise.

"Katsushiro's outside sparring with Nasami-_dono_," the mechanic said, coming over from his forge where he had been reworking Kikuchiyo's giant sword.

"Is that so?" Kambei said with interest. "Whose idea was it?"

"I believe it was Katsushiro's, Kambei-_sama_," Kirara said respectfully. "Nasami-_sama_ was practicing outside… at least, that's what I think she was doing. I'm afraid that I'm not quite familiar with how samurai train. But it was quite graceful, almost like a dance, actually."

"Kata."

"Excuse me?"

"From the way you describe it, it sounds as though Nasami-_dono_ was practicing kata, a stylized form of practice that is used by samurai for meditation through the sword. For some, it is more difficult than just straight training with the katana, for the mind's focus is even more intense upon the body and the weapon than it is in combat."

"I see. Anyway, Katsushiro was watching her. He asked if he might join her in her practice, and they've been outside now for some time."

"Really?" Gorobei said with amusement. "This I have to see." He strode over to the back door of the workshop, Kambei and the others following him.

* * *

As they looked through the door facing the courtyard, they could see Katsushiro and Nasami circling one another, katanas held in guard position, their eyes fixed on one another. Both had removed their bulky cloaks and seemed oblivious to the chill of the evening. As Katsushiro moved back slightly, Nasami moved forward to close the distance between them, then they both struck with loud shouts, their blades braced against each other as they struggled for control. Nasami, however, quickly dropped down into a crouch and lashed out with her foot, knocking Katsushiro's feet out from underneath him and he tumbled to the ground, his katana clattering onto the cobblestones. 

"Damn it, that's the fifth time, Katsushiro," she said with exasperation. "How long are you going to keep holding back when you fight me?"

"Um…"

"I don't understand – you say that you want to be fully trained as a samurai, yet you hesitate at the most crucial moments."

"With all due respect, Nasami-_dono_, it's not seemly for a man to attack a woman," he protested weakly.

Nasami's eyes flashed angrily, and as the others watched in surprise, she had the katana pointed at his throat.

"What did you just say!" she shouted, and the fury in her voice washed over them all.

"Nasami-_dono_, please, I meant no offense…"

Holding the katana in one hand, she lifted the other to her chest and pulled the folds of her gi aside.

"Look at me, Katsushiro."

Katsushiro blushed scarlet and averted his eyes, but she placed the very end of the katana under his chin and forced his head up.

"LOOK AT ME!"

As he lifted his eyes, he saw that a narrow swathe of cloth bound her breasts, but what really made his eyes widen were the scars.

Her torso was covered in them.

"Great samurai…" Kirara breathed, all of them moving nearer to stare at the samuraiko who stood unflinchingly beneath their gaze. "Your body… your beautiful skin…"

As Katsushiro looked closer, he could see pale scars crisscrossing her upper body. She had clearly been slashed numerous times, and unless he was mistaken, she had taken no less than four direct stab wounds from a katana – one in her left shoulder, one just missing her heart, another just under her ribcage, and the fourth through her stomach.

"Wow…" whispered Komachi.

"Holy crap," was all Kikuchiyo could manage. The others turned to him. "What? It's a miracle she's not dead right now."

Nasami shrugged the rest of the gi from her shoulders so that she stood naked to the waist, and all of them could see now how the scars also trailed down her arms, glimmering faintly among the tattoos inked into both forearms.

"My left arm was broken in battle. Both my legs, at least two times each. Arrows in both knees. Another arrow through my right shoulder. A machine samurai caught me across the face with a fist like broken glass. He also nearly shattered my ribs." Her voice was filled with pride as she named each injury. "But I have seen a dozen battles, and more duels than any five samurai I know. And I have come through them all."

* * *

Katsushiro lowered his eyes, their normally vibrant green dimmed with misery. "My humblest apologies, Nasami-_dono_. It was never my intention to offend you." 

"I understand, Katsushiro. But being a samurai is much, much more than the code of bushido or the art of the sword. When I trained, it was often with a katana in one hand and a book in the other. Mind and body, fighting as one."

"I see."

"I doubt it. Get up."

Katsushiro scrambled to his feet, and Nasami practically threw him his katana. But he watched in surprise as she then she slid her own katana into its saya with an ominous hiss, thrust it into the obi at her waist, shrugged back into her clothes, and picked up a long piece of wood from near the door of the workshop.

"What… what are you doing, Nasami-_dono_?" Katsushiro asked in confusion as she turned back to him.

"Making sure I minimize the risk of killing you by mistake," she said shortly, then she glanced over and saw Masamune standing in the doorway.

"Masamune-_san_, could I trouble you for a moment to carve me a boken?" She tossed the piece of wood at him, which he caught easily. He turned it over in his hands thoughtfully.

"Certainly, if you give me a few minutes." He headed back inside, and Nasami turned to the others standing near the entrance of the courtyard.

"Kambei-_san_, Gorobei-_san_, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Nasami-_dono_." The two samurai stepped out onto the cobblestones, the peasants trailing behind them.

"When you fought in the war, did either of you ever encounter samuraiko in battle?"

Both men nodded.

"Did you ever hesitate to engage one in combat?"

"In all truth, that is an unfair question, Nasami-_dono_," Kambei replied. "While women certainly do make capable samurai, they are admittedly rare. In fact, that momentary hesitation was often something that samuraiko would take advantage of in battle. Or did you never use that imbalance to your benefit?"

Nasami suddenly smiled. "Oh, I did. But after the first time you fought one, did you ever hesitate?"

Gorobei and Kambei looked at one another, then back at Nasami. "For my part, no," Gorobei said quietly. "To be honest, it was a samuraiko who gave me this." He traced one finger along the long scar on his left cheek. "After that, I learned to keep my guard up around a woman who carried a weapon."

Kambei slowly nodded in agreement. "I, too, have fought samuraiko, and killed them in the war. It was not easy, but when it was my life or theirs, I fought to protect my own and to serve my lord."

"You… killed a woman, _sensei_?" Katsushiro said in astonishment, unsuccessfully trying to keep the censure out of his voice, and Kambei turned to him with cold eyes as Masamune came back outside, holding the boken he had crafted for Nasami.

"It was honorable warfare, Katsushiro, not plunder and rape. I fought them as I would any man that was my enemy, and I treated the dead with honor."

* * *

Nasami lifted the boken in her hand and pointed it at Katsushiro. "Now listen to me, Katsushiro. You cannot hold back against an opponent because of gender, age, or status. If you've drawn swords, you had better be prepared to fight with all your heart. Anything less dishonors the sword." 

"I don't understand," he said, lowering his own katana.

"Show me your stance."

When he hesitated, she frowned.

"Show me your stance!" she snapped, and instinctively he responded to the command in her voice, taking the appropriate stance with his katana as he had been taught. The samuraiko stood before him, her eyes assessing him from head to toe, taking in everything about him in one long glance. The young man thought he could feel the weight of her gaze as it slowly studied him, measuring the tension in his wrists, the angle of his knees, and the focus of his eyes.

"Now close your eyes," she ordered, and this time Katsushiro didn't hesitate. As he closed his eyes, she moved on silent feet to stand behind him.

"Concentrate on the katana in your hand," she said, her voice soft, nearly hypnotic. "Feel the weight of the steel. The silk of the wrapping on the pommel. The cold of the tsuba." She leaned in close, so that her breath faintly rustled Katsushiro's hair. "The katana trembles in your grasp, singing its song of battle and honor. Its steel gleams in the sun, or glimmers in the moonlight. It whispers as it slices through the air, or screams as it cuts down your enemies."

Katsushiro trembled from the nearness of her, but kept his eyes closed as she moved even closer.

"Every inch of it resonates with what it means to be samurai. Bushido is embodied in the blade, waiting to be demonstrated in the hands of its bearer. When it parries, it leaps to your defense; when it attacks, it draws you into battle; in meditation, it is a path to _satori_, that single instant of clarity for which the samurai lives and dies."

"What is she doing?" Kirara whispered.

"You have been taught to venerate the water," Kambei replied, his voice barely louder than a breath. "Nasami-_dono_ is teaching Katsushiro to venerate the sword."

The samuraiko slipped around Katsushiro to stand before him, slowly lifting the boken as she did so.

"The katana is an extension of your awareness. With the sword in your hand, there is no threat that you cannot anticipate, no danger from which you cannot defend yourself, no attack…"

In a swift gesture, she swept the boken forward, aiming straight at Katsushiro's head…

… and it was blocked by Katsushiro's sword. He opened his eyes, startled by the weight of her boken against his katana.

"… that will ever catch you off guard."

She smiled slowly when his eyes widened as they took in their crossed blades. Behind them, Kambei and Gorobei nodded in mute approval as the peasants and Kikuchiyo stared in amazement.

"What… what just happened, Nasami-_dono_?" Katsushiro breathed in astonishment. He could not take his eyes off where his katana had parried her boken. "My katana… for a moment, I felt… I was…"

Nasami nodded. "You were samurai."

_To be continued_…


	3. Swords and Secrets

_While in the merchant city of Kougakyo, Shimada Kambei and the others have a most unusual samuraiko named Nasami while searching for samurai to help them fight the Nobuseri. But the day after inviting the samuraiko to join them, Kirara wakes in the middle of the night, and eavesdrops on a conversation between Kambei and Nasami. In doing so, she learns that the samuraiko is far more than she seems..._

_The music used as the inspiration for Chapter Three is "Projection Life," from the anime SPRIGGAN. It just so suits the Kata of Seven Swords that I had to use it..._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Three_

Kirara sat up abruptly, not even sure of what had woken her. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and peered around in the darkness of Masamune's workshop. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she could see the shapes of the others on the floor – Komachi, Masamune, Kikuchiyo, Gorobei, Rikichi, Katsushiro…

Kambei was gone. And so was Nasami.

Rising softly, she padded across the floor toward the open door that led to the small courtyard behind the workshop. As she approached, she could hear the two speaking in quiet tones.

"Why do you not accept Katsushiro as your apprentice?" she heard the samuraiko ask. "He's clearly willing to learn, and he already has great respect for you. You could do him no greater honor than to teach him."

As Kirara edged closer to the door, she heard Kambei sigh. "It's not my place to train another man to die. I have seen a great deal of death, Nasami-_dono_, watched many of my men killed. I do not wish to watch anymore."

"So instead you will lead him into battle untested and untaught. Hardly worthy, Kambei-_san_."

"I will not be leading him into battle," Kambei protested. "I need real samurai for this battle against the bandits, experienced warriors who know how to fight, how to take orders, and…"

"How to die?" came Nasami's soft question. "First you neglect him, now you insult him."

Kirara was shocked. How could the woman speak so disrespectfully to a samurai? She was even more shocked when Kambei laughed.

"You never cease to surprise me, Nasami-_dono_. Although I've met several samuraiko, I still cling to the mindset of a woman's traditional role. And yet, you… are like no samuraiko I have ever met before, either. Scholar and warrior, and yet so irreverent that it is almost refreshing, in a way."

Nasami smiled and tilted her head back to look up at the stars. "Life is too short, Kambei-_san_, to be too proper. 'Live every day as though you have forever, live every day as though you have no tomorrow.' Or so one of my teachers used to say."

"Why have you never married?" Kambei asked her curiously. "Surely your clan saw the advantages of having you wed, in the name of alliance."

"I guess that every time my parents were ready to start finding me a husband, I was off on some new adventure, winning glory and honor for the clan and for the empire. As my fame spread, the quality of my suitors went up as well."

Nasami shrugged. "I also never found anyone that I loved. Felt great affection for, yes… but love… no. But, romantic that I am, I hope that one day…" Her voice trailed off.

Kambei waited for her to finish, but when she remained silent, he asked, "What is it you hope for, Nasami-_dono_?"

The samuraiko's dark blue eyes were filled with longing. "I hope that one day I will find someone who looks at me the way Katsushiro looks at Kirara."

"So you noticed as well," Kambei said in satisfaction. "Now you understand the other reason I am reluctant to bring him to Kanna Village. She may not yet realize it, but it would devastate her if anything ever happened to him."

"But don't you think it's because of those feelings that he wishes to fight? Sure, he can go on and on all he likes about bushido and the samurai's duty to protect, but I am convinced that young man would challenge the Emperor himself for one smile from her."

The water priestess was suddenly intensely glad that she was hidden in the darkness, for her face was flaming red.

* * *

"Lady Kirara?" 

She whirled around and saw Katsushiro standing there, hand resting on his katana. She immediately pressed her hand against his mouth to stop him from speaking, and tilted her head to indicate the presence of Nasami and Kambei in the courtyard. The young samurai nodded and stepped beside her to glance outside.

"What are they doing?" he whispered.

"Just talking," Kirara whispered back, trying very hard not to think about what Nasami and Kambei had said. The thought that he had heard what the two elder samurai were saying was enough to make her blush even more.

"What about yourself, Kambei-_san_?" they heard Nasami ask softly. "Have you never been married?"

"No. I loved a woman once, but before we could marry, the Great War called me to battle. When I returned… she was gone."

"Dead?" Nasami asked in quiet horror, and Kambei nodded. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be."

"Is that why you keep everyone distant?" Katsushiro and Kirara both started at Nasami's blunt question. "Because you're afraid of losing someone else?"

Kambei stared at the samuraiko sitting beside him, her eyes intent on his face. "You are remarkably perceptive for one so young. Even if your hair is as white as the winter snow."

She shrugged, but she never took her eyes from his. "Even when I was a child, my _sensei_ used to say that mine was an old soul."

Kambei chuckled sadly. "You almost make me forget, Nasami-_dono_…"

"Forget what?"

"The emptiness within me."

Kirara and Katsushiro watched Nasami hesitantly place her hand on Kambei's shoulder, but Kambei turned his face away. "There must be something in this world that could fill that emptiness. The quiet wisdom of the sages, the solace of a geisha's arms, the purpose of bushido…"

"I am nothing more than an empty shell, a remnant of a man who has lived long beyond his purpose." The hollow sadness in Kambei's voice raised goosebumps on Kirara's skin, and she saw Katsushiro's jaw tighten as he swallowed hard.

"Are you a seer, Nasami-_san_? An oracle?" Kambei whispered hoarsely, and Nasami was touched by the change in the honorific. "We only met yesterday and already you have learned more about me than most others do in a lifetime."

"I am only a student of human nature, Kambei-_san_," she replied. "So much of my life has been spent observing people, to understand them for the purpose of making me a better warrior, that it spilled over into other aspects of my life. But it was never my purpose to offend or to invade your privacy."

But to their surprise, they watched as Kambei lifted his hand to cover the samuraiko's where it rested on his shoulder.

"I would ask a favor, Nasami-_san_," the older samurai asked quietly. "It is something I have wondered since I watched you with Katsushiro."

"What is it?"

He turned back to her at last. "Perform the Kata of Seven Swords for me. Show me that most difficult and most beautiful of kata. I wish to see how a samuraiko performs the dance of the sword."

For a moment, Nasami was silent, and Katsushiro and Kirara found themselves holding their breath as they waited for her answer. Then, without a word, Nasami rose to her feet and moved to the center of the courtyard.

"The Kata of Seven Swords," Katsushiro whispered. "I knew Nasami-_dono_ was a skilled swordsman, but to be able to perform that kata…"

"What is it?" Kirara whispered back as Nasami drew her katana from its saya.

"According to legend, it is a kata that a samurai who had reached enlightment developed, to reflect the seven tenets of bushido – honesty, courage, compassion, courtesy, honor, sincerity, and loyalty. Each stance is meant to embrace that quality, but the kata is terribly difficult. Like the code of bushido, it is deceptively simple, but the control behind it is incredible, something that takes years to learn. The focus must be absolute, the intent behind the kata pure."

In the center of the courtyard, Nasami stood motionless, her eyes closed, her hair slowly blowing in the night breeze.

"Very few samurai are taught the kata, and even fewer master it. How _sensei _knew that Nasami-_dono_ knew the kata is a mystery…"

Her katana was still in her hands as her whole body seemed to draw energy toward it. Then she opened her eyes, stared directly at Kambei, and moved.

* * *

In a single, fluid gesture, but with almost breathtaking slowness, she brought the katana up to parallel the upright line of her body, her head bowed in respect. In that moment, it seemed as though the katana was an extension of her body, something she was absolutely intimate with and wielded with not only confidence, but reverence. 

"Courtesy…" Katsushiro breathed as Nasami gracefully pivoted and brought the sword down, curving to swing it back upright, holding it over her head with both hands, pointing the sword at the stars with her head thrown back. Her eyes shone in the darkness, and Kirara would have sworn that she could hear the katana whispering in the samuraiko's hands.

"Honor…"

As Kambei watched her intensely, the samuraiko suddenly arced the katana downwards in a near blur of a slash, dropped to one knee, and stabbed forward, then slid into an upright crouch and swung her whole body, including the katana in a wide circle before bringing the katana back into a guard position.

"Courage…"

Her eyes again locked on Kambei's, Nasami moved the katana in a classic textbook series of slashes and defenses, but effortlessly switching from her right hand to her left and back again. Her guard was perfect, allowing no moment of weakness or vulnerability. Katsushiro was in awe of her focus, and was suddenly and painfully aware of how much he still had to learn.

"Honesty…"

She swiftly resheathed the katana and sank to her knees, her head and body lowered in a bow of respect, but no sooner had her forehead touched the cobblestones than the katana was in her hand as she struck at an invisible target directly behind her. Before any of them had realized she had drawn the sword, she had raised herself to one knee, the other poised for her to stand, the katana held in one hand defiantly poised before her.

"Loyalty…"

Rising to her feet, Nasami again switched the katana to her left hand, wielding the sword in such a way that the blade always faced outward and was held parallel to the ground as she swayed like a reed in the wind. Then she took the katana in both hands and pointed it toward the ground.

"Sincerity…"

Nasami's eyes met Kambei's a third time, and then she seemed to pull everything into herself, her feet close together, her body arching slightly backward, her eyes closed. Holding the katana in her right hand, she brought the blade up so it was horizontal across her body, and to the horror of Kirara and Katsushiro, she wrapped her left hand around the naked steel as though restraining the sword. Tears spilled from behind her closed eyes, but even as they saw blood trickle down her wrist, she made not a single sound.

"She cut herself?" Kirara gasped, barely remembering in time to keep her voice down.

"It is the most difficult element of the kata," Katsushiro said, deeply moved by the samuraiko's performance. "But it is also the element of bushido that someone like Nasami-_dono_ would believe in most strongly. It is the element that will make a samurai fight for a village, bleed for a peasant, and die if she must."

Kirara could not take her eyes off Nasami, standing in the courtyard, still holding the katana's blade in her bare hand as blood dripped down her palm. As disturbed as she was at seeing the samuraiko in pain, she had never seen anything in her life so beautiful as the look on Nasami's face as she and her katana had danced. "And that element is…?"

"Compassion…"

_To be continued_...


	4. Samurai vs Samurai

_While in the merchant city of Kougakyo, Shimada Kambei and the others have a most unusual samuraiko named Nasami while searching for samurai to help them fight the Nobuseri. Two days after inviting Nasami to join them, all of the samurai and peasants, recognizing the need to hurry, join the search for samurai. But Ukyo has not yet given up on claiming Kirara for his own..._

_The inspiration music for Chapter Four is one of the few non-soundtrack tracks in here - the piece is TIKAL by E. S. Posthumus (you may have heard their music in the trailers for SPIDERMAN)._

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Four_

"You say that she can perform the Kata of Seven Swords?" Gorobei thoughtfully rubbed his chin after hearing Kambei's story of the events of the previous night. "Well, can't say I'm too surprised. The stories about that young woman abound. Still, I wish you had woken me, that I would like to have seen."

Kambei was quiet as he walked alongside the other samurai, his mind elsewhere, until Gorobei elbowed him in the ribs with a laugh. "Come on, Kambei-_dono_, don't look so distracted."

"Tell me, Gorobei-_dono_, what stories have you heard about her in the city?"

Gorobei shrugged expressively. "You want what I've heard or what I think is true?"

"Either would work."

"Well, you've already heard how she beat a samurai twice her size in a duel. If even half the rumors are true, she's received offers of marriage from the sons of three different daimyos, spoken to several ghosts, saved the Emperor's son from a kidnapper, punched out a prominent merchant, led the defense of a city against an opposing army three times its size, killed the commander of an army for treason, and fought in more duels than even I could count. Oh, and her sword is magical, or so 'they' say."

"That wouldn't surprise me."

"You've got to be kidding," Gorobei said in disbelief.

"Not after seeing her perform that kata," Kambei said, his voice pensive. "If I'd had soldiers like her with weapons like that under my command during the Great War, the outcome might have been very, very different. Then again, maybe not."

"Why?"

"Because in her soul, she is not a soldier. Though I've no doubt in my mind she could lead an army with skill, her heart does not long for war."

They walked in silence for a short while, then finally Gorobei asked, "You think a great deal of her, don't you?"

"Well, she is a highly skilled samuraiko," Kambei replied, his eyes sweeping the area for likely samurai to join them. "She would make a valuable addition to the battle before us."

Gorobei hid a smile. He had not only meant his question to ask whether the former commander held Nasami in high regard… but also that she was on his mind quite often. And if Kambei's behavior today was any indication, Gorobei would have bet that Kambei was thinking of something other than Nasami's warrior skills.

* * *

The water sparkled in the city fountain as Kirara's dowsing crystal hung poised over it. The water priestess' eyes were closed as she cast her mind back toward her village, taking in the villagers laboring in the fields, the new well being dug… and the slowly drooping stalks of rice. She opened her eyes and sighed. 

"What's wrong?"

"The rice will soon bend their heads, great samurai," she said respectfully to Nasami, who stood off to one side, watching her commune with the water. "We do not have much time left to find the other samurai that Kambei-_sama_ needs."

Nasami looked thoughtful as she walked with Kirara back toward Masamune's workshop. "Five more…"

"I have faith in Kambei-_sama_'s wisdom," Kirara said quietly. "He knows what we will need to defeat the bandits, and I have no intention of leaving until we have all the samurai we need."

"Mmm… pity he won't consider taking Katsushiro with him," Nasami replied with a sidelong glance at Kirara, whose cheeks turned a becoming shade of pink. "Then you'd only have to find four."

"Are you so certain that you won't join our fight, Nasami-_sama_?"

The samuraiko shook her head. "I still don't know… when I meditate at night, searching for my path, I still see too many possibilities to know which one is the right one. And I still have one more day. After that, we'll both know."

"I just wish I understood," the water priestess said hesitantly, "why Kambei-_sama_ won't consider bringing Katsushiro. Can you explain, great samurai?"

Nasami considered the question for a while. "Well, one does not wait until the moment of a duel to learn if a sword has been forged properly. And your fight against the Nobuseri will not be an easy one. It would be a great risk to bring an untrained warrior into battle, and a great burden on Kambei-_san_'s soul if anything were to happen to Katsushiro as a result."

She glanced down at the dowsing crystal that swung loosely in Kirara's hand. "And didn't you say that your own dowsing crystal didn't choose him?"

Kirara also looked down at the crystal. "Yes… he didn't have the scent of battle."

"He's lucky… that is one scent that no amount of cleansing will ever remove." Nasami's hand tightened on the pommel of her katana.

"I should know."

* * *

Katsushiro, Rikichi, and Komachi moved along one of the lower levels, occasionally pausing to speak to one of the samurai they encountered along the way. Time and again, they were brushed aside, ignored, or outright insulted by the samurai until Rikichi was ready to give up, Komachi was ready to cry, and Katsushiro was ready to scream. 

"This is ridiculous! How can they possibly call themselves samurai?" he growled in frustration as he walked, Rikichi and Komachi trailing disconsolately behind him.

"And our supply of rice is dwindling. I'm concerned, great samurai… if we run out of rice, how can we convince any samurai to join us?"

"We'll find a way," Katsushiro declared. "Somehow. But we can't give up."

Rikichi sighed heavily and stopped walking. "Maybe we were never meant to come here… maybe it was our fate to be constantly at the mercy of the bandits."

The young man turned around and glared at Rikichi. "Don't say that. _Sensei_ will find a way to defeat the bandits, and then you can go back to living your lives in peace."

"Yeah, don't say that, Rikichi! Kambei might be grumpy, but I'm sure he and Sister and Kiku will find a way to beat those bandits good!"

In spite of himself, Rikichi smiled and nodded, and the two men continued walking toward the center of town where they were to meet up with the others, Komachi skipping along ahead of them.

"Look, it's Sister!" Komachi exclaimed as she saw Kirara and Nasami approaching, and dashed ahead to throw her arms around her older sister's legs. "So did you see everybody back home in the water?"

"Yes, I did," Kirara said with amusement, but then her smile faded. "And the rice is nearly ready to bend. Our time here is running out."

"But we already have five samurai!" Komachi said brightly, and the priestess looked at her in confusion.

"We only have two, Komachi, you know that."

"Uh-uh, we've got Kambei, and Gorobei, and Kiku, and Katsushiro, and Nasami! That's five!"

"But Kambei-_sama_ already said that Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo would not be coming with us, and Nasami-_sama_ hasn't given her answer yet," Kirara gently reminded her little sister.

The child waved her hand in a dismissive gesture as only children can. "He'll change his mind, you'll see… and he'll see that both Kiku and Katsushiro are just as good of samurai as he is!"

Katsushiro was touched by the child's faith. "Thank you, Komachi-_chan_. I am honored by your praise. And I'm sure that Kikuchiyo-_dono_ would agree."

Nasami glanced around. "Where is he, anyway? Still at Masamune-_san_'s workshop for repairs?"

The young man nodded. "After our battle with Ukyo's men, his body needed some additional work, so he stayed behind." Then he grinned. "I think he's also badgering Masamune-_san_ into improving on his previous work… something about beating _sensei_."

Nasami and the others were laughing when suddenly the samuraiko whirled around, her hand on her katana.

"Great samurai," Rikichi stammered as Nasami's katana leapt into her hand, "what is it? What's wrong?"

"We've got company, that's what's wrong," she snapped, shoving Kirara and Komachi behind her as eight men stepped out of the crowd to surround the small group. "Katsushiro, keep on an eye on the peasants."

"I can fight, too, Nasami-_dono_," he protested, taking a step forward, but she froze him in mid-step with a glance.

"You can."

She turned her eyes to Kirara, Komachi, and Rikichi.

"But they can't."

* * *

Nasami turned in a slow circle to study their assailants. "What do you want?" she called out in clear, ringing tones. 

"We're here for the farm girl," one of them hissed. "The young lord has not yet given up on having her join him in his court."

To the farmers' collective horror, Nasami smirked. "The 'young lord' is nothing more than an effeminate, overgrown, spoiled brat who should have been turned over his father's knee years ago."

The eight assassins growled and drew their weapons. "How dare you speak that way of him!" one shouted.

"Why not? Honesty is, after all, one of the seven virtues of bushido. Look at me – I'm more of a man than he is, and he's more of a woman than I am."

"Nasami-_sama_, please don't," Kirara begged. "Please don't get into a battle on my behalf."

"This is hardly a battle, Kirara-_san_," Nasami replied, all humor gone, lifting her katana to a guard position. "This is a cowardly abduction."

"You dare to call a samurai cowardly?" came a low voice, and a man with long black hair and glasses stepped forward. From within the folds of his long trench coat he drew forth a katana that he handled with confidence, and Nasami's eyes narrowed.

"If you have to hide behind a bunch of thugs, then yes, I think 'coward' is exactly the right word."

"Just for that, I'll deal with you last." He made a small gesture with his free hand, and then he and the eight assassins leapt at the peasants at the same time.

"NO!" Nasami shouted, slashing at the samurai with her katana as he lunged past her, forcing him to break off his attack. He twisted in midair and landed in a crouch, facing her, his pale face contorted in a scowl. "You will deal with me NOW."

"Get out of my way, little girl," the dark-haired samurai snarled. But Nasami was already moving, taking advantage of the assassins' distraction by bringing her katana down with vicious force and carving straight through one of the assassins reaching for Kirara, then swinging around and beheading a second while Katsushiro sliced at two others. Katsushiro's two opponents glanced startled at the samuraiko as she dropped to the ground, lashed out in a classic foot sweep, and brought a third assassin to the ground before burying her katana in his chest.

Kirara grabbed Komachi and made to run, but two of the other thugs grabbed the girls and started dragging them away while the last one brought the pommel of his sword down on Rikichi's head, knocking him unconscious.

"Let go of me!" Kirara screamed, struggling frantically, while Komachi started to wail and tried to bite her captor. "Nasami! Katsushiro! HELP!"

Nasami and Katsushiro both turned at the sound of her cry, but the dark-haired samurai forced Nasami back with a series of well-aimed slashes, while the two assassins remained between Katsushiro and Kirara. Nasami cursed and sprang at her opponent, then leapt up, planted her feet on his shoulders, and vaulted over him like one of the Imperial acrobats toward Katsushiro's foes. As she landed, she drew her wakizashi from the obi around her waist and buried it between an assassin's shoulderblades.

"Katsushiro!" she shouted, but the young man was already going after Kirara and Komachi, his face pale but determined.

"Let them go!" he ordered, trying to sound confident, but the assassins turned and held the girls before them as shields.

"Katsushiro," Kirara pleaded, "help Komachi, don't worry about me!"

The katana trembled in Katsushiro's grasp, but he tightened his grip and thought about what Nasami had told him the other night.

_Bushido is embodied in the blade, waiting to be demonstrated in the hands of its bearer_.

Honor… loyalty…

_Courage_.

The young man suddenly felt a wave of calm come over him, and time seemed to stand still. The katana in his hands felt as thought it was moving of its own volition, twisting and striking without thought. He was dimly aware of cries and shouts, but he kept his mind firmly focused on the blade.

Suddenly he felt as though he had woken from a deep sleep, and blinked his eyes. And then he nearly threw up when he saw what had happened. Kirara and Komachi both stood unharmed, their eyes wide with shock. Both girls had watched in disbelief as Katsushiro's eyes had changed, the sword in his hand gleaming as with two perfect strokes, he had killed both of their captors before either of them could stop him.

"Katsushiro…" Kirara whispered, swaying on her feet in shock, and then Katsushiro dropped his katana and was holding them both.

* * *

"I'll kill you for this, girl," the dark-haired samurai hissed as Nasami neatly disposed of the last remaining assassin. "And I swear to you, it won't be pleasant." 

Nasami laughed in his face.

Slowly the two circled each other, katanas in hand, testing each step to make sure their foot was secure. The trench coat he wore made it difficult to gauge his body language, but the armor she wore was a better defense. Both of them were breathing heavily, and his dark eyes narrowed as he took in her slightly limping gait, and suddenly he smiled.

"You're mine."

He moved at her suddenly, then whirled to one side. The samuraiko turned to follow the motion, but with a vicious stabbing motion, he crouched down and drove the katana straight into her knee, and she screamed in agony. Twisting the katana with savage cruelty, he yanked it free and stepped back, then knocked her to the ground. Before she could try to stand, he kicked her katana out of her hand, and then abruptly was on top of her, his katana raised and pointed at her face, prepared to thrust.

"Nasami-_sama_!" Kirara cried, and Katsushiro turned in horror.

"Coward," Nasami spat in his face. Even facing certain death, she refused to look away, her dark blue eyes staring straight into his. "You know nothing of what it means to be samurai."

"I told you," he said softly as he drew the katana back to strike, "don't call me 'coward.'"

The sword flashed down.

_To be continued_…


	5. True Identities

_Searching Kougakyo for additional samurai to join their cause, Kirara has been ambushed by Hyogo and his henchmen, but Nasami and Katsushiro refuse to let Ukyo take the water priestess. Now the battle between Nasami and Hyogo continues, but then a shocking revelation about the samuraiko's true identity changes everything... What will the truth mean for the samurai now?_

_(To answer the question some of you have asked in your reviews, yes, at one point I studied kendo. It has been years, though, since I did, so please forgive any glaring inconsistencies.)_

_Chapter Five finds us back with soundtracks again, this time to "Sorrow" from the anime KIDDY GRADE._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Five_

"NASAMI-_DONO_!" Katsushiro howled, shoving Kirara aside and lunging for his katana, Kirara and Komachi both screaming in horror. "NO!"

As the katana descended toward her face, Nasami desperately wrenched herself to one side, and the blade whistled down to slice into the ground inches from her head. She gasped as she saw her own reflection in the sword's gleaming blade, tangled in the long strands of her white hair. The samurai on top of her cursed savagely at missing her, and grabbed her by the throat with one hand while gripping his katana in the other.

Her eyes were drawn to a sudden movement at the edge of the square, and she spotted Gorobei and Kambei sprinting toward the group before coming to a sudden halt.

The two men froze at the sight of a samurai holding Nasami down on the ground, his katana impaled beside her head, and Nasami's leg covered in blood. But there was no way either of them could reach her in time, and they could see that Katsushiro was also too far away to reach the fallen samuraiko before her assailant could strike.

"You got lucky," the dark-haired samurai hissed, yanking the katana out of the ground and preparing to strike again. "But you won't be a second time."

Suddenly he froze, his eyes wide. His whole body went as still as a statue.

And Nasami's soft chuckle echoed across the square.

"Nasami-_sama_!" Kirara cried out, taking a step forward. "Are you all right?" She moved another step closer and gasped aloud as she got a better look at the samuraiko lying on the ground.

Nasami had taken advantage of the near miss to draw a tanto from the folds of her obi and had braced the point up against the groin of the samurai on top of her.

Standing at the edge of the square, Gorobei began to laugh. "The more I watch this woman, the more I like her style."

"Now is not the time to be laughing, Gorobei-_dono_," Kambei rasped. "He could still kill her with ease."

"And I'm sure that she knows it. But like a true samurai, she never gives up."

Nasami and the assassin ignored them and the others.

"Go ahead," Nasami said softly, raising the blade slightly and he flinched. Her face was pale and drawn from the pain, but she never took his eyes from his. "Strike me. You might even kill me, but I promise you, you won't come away unscarred."

He growled in frustration, and she took full advantage of it by pressing the tanto even closer.

"Get off of me," she whispered hoarsely. "The longer you sit there, the more pain I'm in, and the more my hand is going to shake. So unless you'd rather end up a eunuch for the geisha houses, I suggest that you move."

For a long moment, they stared at each other, and he carefully dropped the katana and lifted himself away from her. With obvious effort, she pushed herself to her feet, picked up his sword, and stood with both the katana and the tanto held at arm's length.

"Nasami-_san_!" Kambei called.

"Don't worry, Kambei-_san_, I'm not going to kill him. Killing a man in cold blood is for cowards, not samurai." She carefully approached the assassin, his katana and her tanto held at the ready.

"You know the old proverb that 'live enemies make armies, dead enemies make graves,'" she said softly. "But I want you to live. And I want you to take a message back to Ukyo. If he comes after Kirara-_san_ while I'm around, I'll bury this dagger somewhere that will make him even less of a man than he already is."

"I will kill you for this," the dark-haired samurai ground out between clenched teeth, eyes filled with hatred. "Wander where you will, then, Sasuraitsuru. But no matter where you go, no matter how far you roam, I will hunt you day and night until I find you, and I swear to you, by all that's holy, I will send you to Jigoku personally."

Nasami ignored the threat. "It may be true that you will be the one who ends my life. But remember this, Hyogo-_sama_…"

The others started as the samuraiko addressed her assailant by name.

She limped closer, blood streaming down her leg. But she stood straight as she placed the very end of the katana against his chest.

"You may be stronger than I am, faster than I… maybe, just maybe, even better than I…"

She suddenly moved, and for an instant, her companions thought she had stabbed him through the heart. But then they realized that she had resheathed the samurai's katana neatly back in the saya hidden in his trench coat.

"… but you have to sleep some time."

Nasami took a limping step backward away from Hyogo, and he turned to leave. But as he reached the far end of the square, he glanced back over his shoulder to see Katsushiro and the others quickly moving toward her.

He smiled coldly, then turned and vanished into the crowd.

* * *

"Nasami-_dono_! Thank the heavens you're all right!" Katsushiro gasped in relief as he, Kirara, Komachi, and Rikichi approached, the farmer having been revived thanks to Kirara's care and Komachi's nagging. "I thought for sure that he was going to kill you when he had you trapped on the ground like that!" 

She shrugged as Kambei and Gorobei approached. "It's not the first time I've faced him, and it probably won't be the last either."

"You know him, great samurai?" Rikichi asked, rubbing the lump on the back of his head with chagrin.

"We… we've met."

To Rikichi's astonishment, she saw the samuraiko's mouth twist in a hard smile, made even more eerie by the faint scars that lined her face.

"But he'll come after you!" Kirara whispered, wringing her hands in concern. "And he said that he'll never stop hunting until you're dead!"

"You showed great courage and determination, Nasami-_san_," Kambei said, resting his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for protecting Kirara and the others."

For a moment, she leaned into his touch, but as she lifted her head to smile, her eyes drifted shut and she collapsed to the pavement, unconscious.

"Her injury!" Kirara cried. "Kambei-_sama_, quick, we have to get her back to Masamune-_sama_'s workshop immediately!"

"What happened to her?" the white-clad samurai asked the group as Gorobei lifted the samuraiko into his arms. "We could see the blood…"

"She and that other samurai were beating each other up, and she was doing a good job, too!" Komachi said, waving her arms around. "But then that man stabbed Nasami in the knee with his sword!"

"What?" he said in horror, glancing at Nasami, and he could see the armor and fabric around her left knee were soaked with blood, in addition to the other injuries that Hyogo had inflicted upon her during their duel.

Katsushiro looked at Nasami lying unconscious in Gorobei's arms. "_Sensei_… will she be all right?"

Kambei's face was grave, and he remained silent. Gorobei, on the other hand, glanced back at the young man. "It's hard to say, Katsushiro. Nasami-_dono _has clearly survived some life-threatening injuries, but I don't know if that luck of hers has finally run out. At best, that samurai worsened her limp even further. At worst… she may never walk again."

"What did that man call her? Sasuraitsuru?" Kirara asked, trying desperately not to think about Nasami's injury. Gorobei nodded. "What does that mean?"

"It means that he knows who she really is."

"Who she really is?" Rikichi repeated. "You mean she was lying to us?"

"Not exactly, no. But when one goes on a quest as she has, one leaves behind most things that could identify one as belonging to a certain clan or family. However, in her case, three things point to who she was before she gave all that up."

"And they are?" Kirara asked, curious in spite of herself.

"Well, for one thing, very few samuraiko, especially of her age, have white hair."

"Her hair doesn't appear to have been dyed, though," Katsushiro said, puzzled. "In fact, it looks as though it's her natural color."

"But she's too young for her hair to be white!" Rikichi protested.

"Some say there's a reason for that. Then there are her tattoos. Many samurai tattoo the symbols of their schools on their sword arm, to remind themselves where they come from." The peasants nodded, remembering the samuraiko standing in the light of Masamune's workshop, naked to the waist, tattoos vividly inked into both of her arms.

"And then there's that." He looked at the katana that Komachi had retrieved from where Nasami had dropped it during her fight with Hyogo and was carrying along with great dignity.

"Her sword?" Katsushiro also looked at the katana, its blade gleaming in the afternoon sun.

"Indeed. That katana that Komachi is carrying is well over a hundred years old. It is one of a pair of famous swords, one with a long and distinguished history."

"It's certainly a well-crafted blade, Gorobei-_dono_, but…"

"Look closer, Katsushiro. Do you see those kanji stamped into the blade?"

The young man and the farmers all looked at the katana again. In faint but exquisite kanji, they saw a single word.

"_Mamorimasu_…" Kirara murmured. "What does that mean?"

Kambei's voice was low, an almost resigned sigh. "Defender. The sister sword of the katana _Sememasu_. _Sememasu_ is held in honor by the family of the Emperor's Champion, while _Mamorimasu_ is the famed katana of Sasuraitsuru."

The water priestess looked at the ex-commander, surprised at the tone of his voice. She was even more surprised at the look in his eyes as he stared at the white-haired samuraiko. Emotions roiled there just beneath the placid surface – respect, pride, sorrow.

"And… _Sasuraitsuru_?" she asked hesitantly.

Kambei's eyes were fixed on the white-haired woman. "A samurai from a family of great wealth and prestige. A samurai skilled enough to perform the Kata of Seven Swords. A samurai who risked dishonor to save another samurai's life, but championed her enemy's honor when it was questioned. A samurai who could cut down her commander for treason, but would give her last rations of rice to a starving peasant child."

He reached out, and with surprising tenderness, touched her pale hair.

"A woman named Nasami, with a mind for battle, and a heart for romance, who earned the nickname Sasuraitsuru, or 'Wandering Crane.'"

* * *

In the shadows of Masamune's workshop, they worked to heal Nasami's injury. Masamune and Kikuchiyo had both been horrified when the group had entered, Nasami unconscious and bleeding in Gorobei's arms. It was not until they had removed her armor that they saw the extent of the damage that Hyogo had done when he'd thrust the katana into her knee. Masamune had taken one look at her wound, and immediately thrust an unfinished blade into his forge. 

"Kambei, get that fabric away from the wound. Be careful not to pull too hard when you do, and do what you can to clean the area around the injury."

Kirara smoothed the white hair away from Nasami's forehead, alarmed at how cold she was and the absolute pallor of her face. "Kambei-_sama_…"

Without looking up from his work, Kambei nodded. "Nasami-_san_ is in shock. She's lucky she's not dead right now, but if we don't do something fast, she will be."

"What are you doing?" Komachi asked Masamune as the metal became a glowing red.

"We have to stop that bleeding," he said matter-of-factly, not looking at the child. "Kiku, take the little one outside. Kambei, Gorobei, you'll have to hold Nasami down."

The machine samurai stood without a word and lifted Komachi up, ignoring her kicking, and Masamune drew the blade forth and approached Nasami.

"You can't be serious!" Kirara said in horror, and Masamune turned to her grimly.

"That stab wound is too serious to bandage, and a tourniquet will almost certainly cost her that leg. While this is more painful, cauterizing the wound will at least allow her to walk again. I hope."

Without another word, he placed the red-hot blade against the wound, and Nasami let out a blood-curdling scream of agony. Her whole body convulsed, struggling under the combined weight of the other two samurai, but they refused to let her move away, even as the heated blade made her flesh sizzle.

Kirara turned and bolted outside, and Katsushiro could hear her retching in the courtyard, even as she sobbed. He gave her a few moments to try and compose herself, and then, with a last concerned glance at Nasami, he left the workshop as well.

At last Nasami's screams subsided as she again sank into unconsciousness, and Masanume, Gorobei, and Kambei worked to bind her wound again, the two samurai filling the mechanic in on what had happened in the square. Finally they finished, and Gorobei and Masamune stood up and washed their hands in the water the mechanic kept for cooling swords.

"Will she survive?" Gorobei asked softly, wiping his hands on a rag.

"With that wound, and how much blood she lost, it's anybody's guess."

But when they turned back around, they saw Kambei still kneeling beside the pallet where Nasami lay, his head bowed, eyes closed, holding her hands in his.

Into the silence that had followed the samuraiko's anguished cries and Masamune's remark, he was whispering five words over and over.

"I won't let you die…"

_To be continued_…


	6. The Decision

_On the third day since the invitation to join, a samurai joins the group, a samuraiko makes a decision, and a water priestess works a miracle..._

_Note: After going online and finding the episode summaries of SAMURAI 7 (many thanks to those of you who sent them along, I really appreciate it), I realized that as this story goes on, my way of portraying the characters and events of S7 may radically differ than what 'really happened.' And as someone who prides herself on staying within the boundaries of canon, this is a little galling. But as my husband pointed out, "As long as they like what they read, who cares?" So here's hoping you like what you read…_

_It had to happen eventually - my other favorite anime's music was going to get used sooner or later. The music for Chapter Six is "Vegeta's Vision" from the American soundtrack for DRAGONBALL Z, Volume Six. (How appropriate!)_

_Another bit of trivia… Kirara's song is based on the rhythm and melody of the song of the end credits of S7._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Six_

"How is she, great samurai?" Kirara asked Gorobei softly as he tended Nasami's wounds. He, Kambei, Katsushiro, Masamune and Kikuchiyo had taken turns staying awake and watching over the wounded samuraiko, and it was during Gorobei's shift that she had begun to thrash and cry out, delirious from shock.

"Not good," he said grimly, carefully changing the wrappings around Nasami's injured knee. "We can't exactly go strolling around looking for a doctor. All we can do is watch and wait."

Kirara clenched her small hands into fists as she watched Nasami toss and turn on her pallet on the floor. Used to taking action once she made up her mind, the enforced helplessness was nearly driving her mad. "There has to be something we can do! She saved my life, and Komachi's, and Rikichi's! How can I just sit here and do nothing?"

The street performer glanced down at Kirara's hands, and saw the dowsing crystal she wore on a bracelet around her wrist. "Actually… you may be able to help her."

"Really?"

"Kambei says you're a Mikumari… a water priestess. Maybe if you can speak to the water spirits within Nasami, you might be able to bring her fever down." Kirara just stared at Gorobei, who shrugged. "You have a better idea?"

She shook her head, and moved to kneel beside the white-haired woman. Gently, she placed one hand on Nasami's forehead, wincing as she felt the burning heat and cold sweat there, and shook her dowsing crystal free with the other. For a moment, she watched it sparkle and glow in the faint light from Masamune's forge. Then she held it over Nasami and closed her eyes, and slipped into the twilight world where her soul and heart were calm and she could hear the water spirits speak.

Softly, she began to sing.

"_Dream of gently sighing rivers that wind through the hills  
__Dream of moonlight in darkness so silvery bright  
__Dream of cool rain that falls from the clouds in the skies  
__Dream of swift winds that blow through the night…"_

The dowsing crystal in her hand slowly began to swing in time to the rhythm of her song, gently flashing each time it passed over Nasami's heart.

"_Dream of clear streams that flow down the side of the mountain  
__Dream of snow as it dances and falls through the air  
__Dream of lakes as they sparkle in the afternoon sunlight  
__Let the sound of my song lift and carry you there…"_

She didn't notice the others waking up and turning to watch as they listened to her song. All of her attention was focused on Nasami, and on saving the samuraiko.

_"Dream of storms as they thunder over meadows and fields  
__Dream of bright stars that glimmer and fall from the sky  
__Dream of oceans and seas, and the play of the waves  
__Dream of twilight so peaceful like the blue of your eyes…"_

Kirara sensed the water spirits within Nasami reacting to the song, and she continued to sing, reminding the other woman not only of coolness and peace, but of herself, to strengthen her soul as her body fought to recover.

"_Dream of wandering the long roads that range far and wide  
__Dream of slumber so restful easing worries and cares  
__Dream of dancing as one with the sword by your side  
__Let the sound of my song lift and carry you there…"_

Nasami's body shivered once, and then lay still, her breathing slow and even as the lines of pain faded from her face. The dowsing crystal stopped swinging and went dark, and Kirara's eyes opened, immediately flashing to Nasami's face, and she nearly cried in relief.

"Gorobei-_sama_!" she whispered joyfully. "You were right! I did it!"

"You did more than you realize," she heard Kambei say behind her, and she and Gorobei turned to see the other samurai approach and kneel beside Nasami. He gently touched the samuraiko's forehead, then checked her pulse and her injury. With remarkable tenderness, he drew the bandages away from the wound as the others gathered around.

"Lady Kirara," breathed Katsushiro. "I knew that you were gifted, but this…"

"But it wasn't me!" Kirara protested. "All I did was sing, and speak to the water spirits in Nasami-_sama_ like Gorobei-_sama_ suggested!" But the dowsing crystal in her hand suddenly glowed brightly, just as it had when she had first found Kambei in the middle of the crowded streets of Kogakyo. And in its brilliant light, all of them could see the miracle that Kirara's song had wrought.

The injury had healed, leaving only a long white scar behind.

"Whoa…" whispered Komachi.

* * *

"I heard you," Nasami whispered later, as the others prepared to leave for their daily search for samurai. Her eyes were on Kirara as she stood near the door. "I heard you singing to me, making me well again." 

Kirara nodded. "I had to do something… you stopped those assassins from kidnapping me and Komachi." But Nasami shook her head.

"Not just me. Katsushiro did, too." She looked over at the young man who stood just behind Kambei. "You did well, Katsushiro. I saw how you handled those two thugs in the square."

He said nothing, but turned his head away, and her blue eyes narrowed. Then she sighed, and closed her eyes.

"Katsushiro, Kirara, Rikichi, and I will go looking for samurai today," Kambei told the samuraiko. "Gorobei-_dono _will remain here, as will Kikuchiyo."

"Damn it, why do I always get left behind?" Kikuchiyo ranted, but Kambei silenced him with a look.

"Because Nasami is in no condition to defend herself if that samurai comes looking for her. Which is why you and Gorobei will stay here. Komachi will also stay behind today to help you with Nasami."

Kikuchiyo promptly shut up.

The others turned to leave, but the samuraiko's soft whisper stopped them.

"Kambei-_san_…"

He turned back to look at her. Nasami had reached down beside the pallet and was resting her hand on her katana, which lay sheathed within arm's reach.

"You know… don't you."

It was a simple statement, one that he did not pretend to misunderstand as she opened her eyes again and met his gaze. For a long time, the two gazed at one another, neither one saying a word.

Finally Kambei turned and walked out, the others trailing after him.

Gorobei sighed and crouched down beside Nasami. "You know, given the stories that were going on about you, I'm surprised he didn't catch on sooner."

"You didn't recognize me, either," Nasami reminded him, her eyes still closed.

"A remarkable lapse on my part… so how in the world did the legendary Sasuraitsuru herself end up here in Kogakyo?"

Nasami opened her eyes. "Legendary? What have people been saying about me?"

"The stories of the Wandering Crane are varied and many."

"Such as?" Kikuchiyo asked in curiosity, settling himself down on the floor near her pallet with Komachi crawling over to sit at the foot of Nasami's bed. The two had been filled in the previous night when they'd worked to heal Nasami on the samuraiko's past, with Gorobei and Kambei both providing details of her life before her arrival in Kogakyo.

Gorobei held up a hand to start counting on his fingers. "Well, as I was telling Kambei-_dono_, she's received offers of marriage from the sons of three different daimyos…"

"Not to mention a few lesser daimyos themselves…" Nasami added wryly.

"Saved the Emperor's son from a kidnapper…"

"With the help of several other samurai," the samuraiko admitted.

The street performer smirked. "Knocked a prominent merchant out cold with a single blow…"

Nasami laughed. "I told him to leave me alone, but he just would not listen to me."

"Led the defense of a city against an opposing army three times its size during the Battle of Lost Retribution…"

"And nearly got myself killed in the process." She lightly touched the scar on her stomach where an enemy general's katana had slipped past her guard.

"Killed the commander of an army for treason during the Battle of Twilight Honor…"

"He was about to open the gates of the castle to the opposing army." Nasami shivered as she remembered beheading the man to take his head back to his daimyo as proof of his treachery.

Gorobei pointed at her katana. "And is it true that your sword is magical?"

"That depends on your definition of magical," she replied, handing the katana to him. The samurai drew it and studied it thoughtfully.

"_Mamorimasu_… I never thought I'd hold this, let alone meet its bearer."

"So if you're so famous, how come you're here in this big smelly city?" Komachi wanted to know.

"It's a long story."

"We seem to have plenty of time," Gorobei said cheerfully.

"Well…" Nasami was saved from answering by a knock at the door of Masamune's workshop, and a young man entered wearing a pilot's cap and a friendly smile.

"You're the metalsmith Masamune-_san_, right?" he asked, peering at the mechanic as he worked at the forge.

"Yep, that's me. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was told that you keep some pretty nifty machinery here for sale, and thought I'd take a look. If you don't mind, that is."

"Not at all, feel free to look around."

The samurai bowed. "Much obliged."

Nasami closed her eyes again as the young man picked up a mechanized crank and began talking shop with Masamune. As she slowly slid into sleep, she missed the thoughtful look that crossed Gorobei's face.

* * *

That night, when the others returned to discover to their surprise that the woodcutting samurai they'd heard about and had been searching for was actually already there, Nasami was awake again and formally introduced to Heihachi. The young samurai's easygoing manner and cheerful smile soon had her laughing as well, as well as his unbridled passion for rice. 

As the evening wore on, the samuraiko finally rebelled against spending any more time in bed, and managed to get to her feet.

"If I stay on that pallet any longer, I'll take root like a tree," she proclaimed, weakly swaying her way across the workshop to accept a bowl of rice from Komachi.

"Still, it would be wise for you not to over-exert yourself," Kambei reminded her, and she shot him a glare as she carefully lowered herself to sit beside Kikuchiyo.

"Fine, then I'll continue to lounge around on that bed like that spoiled brat Ukyo and you can wait on me hand and foot while I convalesce."

"Nasami-_dono_, you should show _sensei_ more respect," Katsushiro chided her, and Nasami grinned wickedly.

"What would you rather I say?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. She glanced at Kambei through lowered lashes, dropped her voice to a husky whisper, and murmured, "Great samurai, you're beautiful… so beautiful that I'm in love."

At the look on Katsushiro's and Kambei's faces, Gorobei, Kikuchiyo, Masamune and Heihachi burst into uncontrolled laughter as Rikichi and the other peasants choked on their soup.

Over dinner, Kambei and the others filled Heihachi in on what had happened since their arrival in Kogakyo, and by the end of the meal, the engineer agreed to join their fight against the Nobuseri.

"Kirara-_san_."

The priestess set down her bowl of firefly soup and looked over at Nasami, drawn by her serious tone. "Yes, great samurai?"

The samuraiko stared down at her knee, her white hair falling forward to hide her face. "It has been three days since you asked me to join your cause. In that time, I have had much to think about, much to consider, and at last I know what I need to do."

She sighed. "My skills cannot be bought with rice or with pity, or even with the notion of fighting side by side on the battlefield with Kambei-_san_."

Kirara's face fell, as did Katsushiro's. Kambei sighed with regret, Heihachi looked thoughtful, Kikuchiyo rumbled under his breath, and Gorobei frowned in disappointment.

But then Nasami's hand clenched tightly around her sword, as it had the night she performed the Kata of Seven Swords, and she lifted her head to stare the water priestess in the eyes.

"For my sword has already been bought… by a song."

And the others all cheered loudly as the samuraiko made her faltering way across the workshop to lay her katana at Kirara's feet.

_To be continued_…


	7. Know Thine Enemy

_Note: I will answer the prevalent question right now – yes, the original seven samurai are going to Kanna Village; I am not leaving one out or killing one of them just because Nasami is coming along, too. And canon will not be drastically rewritten, for those of you who already know the story. I'm just… adding to it. Besides, who's to say that the Seven wouldn't have been more successful if they'd had a woman along?_

_Chapter Seven's music was a little harder to find, as I wanted something to convey that frantic feeling of all hell breaking loose... then my husband suggested "Zodiacal Sign" from AQUARIAN AGE, and darn him, he was right... I love him anyway._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Seven_

"So, you're bringing Kikuchiyo along today, too, hmm?"

"At this point, I'd accept help from a cat," Kambei told Nasami with no small amount of exasperation. "We need more samurai, and we're running out of time."

"True," she admitted, getting to her feet and stretching. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan is that you and Gorobei-_dono _will continue scouting out Ayamoro while the others and I look for more samurai to recruit." A grim smile touched his lips. "After all, as far as I've heard, the Wandering Crane can be quite good at spying when she wants to be."

She frowned, then turned away to pick up her daisho. While her back was still to Kambei, she said softly, "You're never going to let me forget, are you?"

"That you are Sasuraitsuru?" he replied, checking his own sword where it hung at its side. He glanced up and saw that the others were studiously ignoring the conversation, but it was clear that all of them were listening. At last, he looked over at her, but still she stood facing away from him, her hands at her sides in loose fists. "How can you forget who you are? That name is as much a part of you as the name Nasami."

"And it was something I tried to leave behind when I left my family."

"You could have said something." The accusation was out before Kambei could stop himself, and Nasami swung around to glare at him.

"Why should I have to? All I ever did was what was expected of any samurai who serves a lord and the Empire. It doesn't make me any better than anyone else." She reached up and grabbed a handful of her own white hair. "What would you have me do? Dye my hair back to the black it was before?"

She clutched the pommel of the katana at her waist. "Abandon the weapon that has saved my life more times than I can ever count? Yes, I am Sasuraitsuru, the Wandering Crane, bearer of _Mamorimasu_. Yes, peasants and courtiers alike sing songs about me. Yes, I have fought and bled and damned near DIED for my lord and my emperor!" By now she was shouting, and ignoring the others in the workshop who stood staring at her, she strode up to Kambei so that she was barely inches from him.

"But I am still NASAMI!"

For a long moment, the two samurai stared at one another, neither looking away, grey eyes locked on dark blue eyes. In the end, Nasami turned on her heel and strode out the door with her slightly limping walk.

"Let's go," Kambei told the peasants and other samurai. "We have a great deal to do. Komachi, you'll stay here with Masamune-_san_ and help him."

"Don't you think that was a little harsh?" Gorobei asked Kambei quietly as he moved toward the door to follow Nasami. The white-haired samurai was as serious as any of them had ever seen him.

"It had to be said."

"Why? In the end, she's right. What difference does it make?"

Kambei sighed. "In the end… it makes all the difference in the world."

* * *

Nasami was cursing to herself most of the way to Ayamoro's castle, and Gorobei was torn between smiling at her choice of epithets and frowning at her mood. But after a while, she finally wound down and stopped in the middle of the street. 

"Oh, this is ridiculous," she said flatly, and Gorobei turned to look at her.

"What is?"

"Me being angry. It gets in the way of clear and rational thought. But that man just drives me mad, he's so… so…"

"Samurai?"

Nasami threw him a sour look. "Yes, he is… in the best sense… and the worst."

"Very true," he replied. "So what do you intend to do about it?"

She suddenly grinned. "Challenge him to a friendly sparring match with boken when we get back to Masamune-_san_'s workshop."

"Do you honestly think that's going to help matters any?" Gorobei said in exasperation as she began walking again.

"Probably not, but it might make me feel better."

The samurai shook his head. "You've got to be kidding."

The two of them walked in silence for a while, carefully familiarizing themselves with the layout of the city. Both had spent a great deal of time there, and knew of a few remote areas that would allow them to spy on Ayamoro without drawing too much attention.

Soon they were perched on a high outcrop that would allow them to look down into the courtyard of the palace. From where they stood, they could see the magistrate strolling through his gardens, followed by his two bodyguards and a handful of servants and other men.

"Ayamoro and his bodyguards," Nasami mused thoughtfully as Gorobei handed her the binoculars.

"One of whom you already know," Gorobei said wryly. "I wonder if he's told Ayamoro about you yet."

"Knowing Hyogo, I doubt it."

Again, Gorobei wondered exactly what history the samuraiko shared with Ayamoro's bodyguard. "Why do you say that?"

"He's the type of man who doesn't share information unless it suits him to do so. And unless it were of some benefit to tell the magistrate that the Wandering Crane is in Kogakyo, he'll keep silent about my presence here and my threat against his son. Know anything about the samurai in red?"

"Kyuzo-_dono_. A first-class swordsman, and a deadly samurai. He and Kambei have already encountered one another and fought. Kambei-_dono _is determined to have him join us, but I'd say that convincing that man is going to take some major work."

Nasami looked over at him. "Why?"

"Because Kyuzo wants to kill him."

"That does make a working relationship difficult," she chuckled softly. "Pity that a samurai of such caliber works for Ayamoro."

Suddenly the samuraiko's attention was drawn by a flurry of activity near one of the gardens in the courtyard, and she saw Ayamoro bow to another man dressed all in golden fabric.

She drew in a sharp breath. "An Imperial Envoy."

"What?" Gorobei was surprised, and she handed him back the binoculars.

"That man that Ayamoro is speaking to, he's one of the Emperor's 'messengers,' carrying the words of the Emperor to daimyos and magistrates across the Empire."

He looked over at her as she leaned in for a closer look. "Do you recognize him?"

She shook her head. "Yes and no. He looks familiar, but the Emperor's court shifts so often that keeping track of every envoy and courtier is as futile as counting every grain of sand on a beach. He's well placed, I can tell you that."

"So what's an Imperial Envoy doing in Kogakyo?"

"Probably checking up on the city's progress," she murmured pensively. "Not to mention making sure that we of the samurai caste aren't causing too much trouble. It makes the merchants look bad." Her eyes narrowed as she studied the two men with the magistrate, as well as the others who trailed behind them.

"Of all the men there, the two samurai are the only real threat. That other with the pipe and perpetually sour expression is a glorified lapdog, with no real skill."

Gorobei shook his head in wonder. "You really are something else."

They watched Ayamoro bow again to the Envoy and escort him inside, along with most of the others in the group. The two samurai remained outside for a while, and Nasami and Gorobei saw Hyogo say something to Kyuzo, then turn to leave.

"I wonder what he said," Nasami remarked.

"Whatever it was, I'd say Kyuzo wasn't too happy about it. But it looks like Hyogo's leaving the castle."

Suddenly his hand tightened on the binoculars. "Damn."

"What?"

Then she saw several of the Yakan flying machines that often accompanied the city guardsmen around move into formation behind the dark-haired samurai.

"Where is he going with reinforcements like that?"

She and Gorobei looked at one another, and then immediately turned and started running down into the lower levels of Kogakyo.

* * *

Kambei and the others strolled through Kogakyo's streets, searching for samurai to join their cause. Kikuchiyo was in high spirits at being "allowed" to come along, when he noticed a samurai lounging casually against a nearby support. 

"Hey, you there, you got a minute to spare?"

Even as he approached the samurai with a cheerful shout, Kirara, Rikichi, Komachi, Katsushiro and Kambei stopped in dismay. All five recognized the dark-haired samurai from two days past… when he'd crippled Nasami and nearly killed her.

"Hyogo," Kambei murmured.

"Shouldn't you say something?" Kirara pleaded as Kikuchiyo approached the samurai, but Kambei just looked at her.

"Why? He wouldn't listen."

"CHALLENGE!" Kikuchiyo yelled, lunging at Hyogo, but faster than he could track, the dark samurai dodged and suddenly the mechanical samurai found himself cut off from the others by one of the Yakan flying machines of the city guardsmen.

Hyogo smirked. "Sorry, I have no interest in machines." He moved toward the others, his eyes on Kambei, and the white-clad samurai knew instantly that Hyogo recognized him as well from the other day. Then Hyogo started insulting him, and Kambei knew that the other was just itching for a fight.

This was too much for Katsushiro and he moved in front of Kambei, drawing his own katana to challenge the dark samurai on his sensei's behalf.

"STAND BACK, CHILD!" Hyogo thundered, and Katsushiro found himself falling back a step before he'd even realized what he had done.

From behind him came a soft plea. "Katsushiro, don't."

The young man gritted his teeth, clearly galled at having to give in. "I'll back down, but only to protect you."

Kambei never took his eyes off Hyogo. "Noble words, but the task of defense…"

"… is much more daunting than attack," Katsushiro finished. "I know, _sensei_."

Kambei nodded. He had no intention of letting the insult go… nor did he plan on letting the attack on Nasami go unavenged, either. Slowly he drew his katana and advanced as Hyogo did the same.

For a moment, they stared at one another, and then Hyogo charged. Kambei quickly found himself being forced back by the dark samurai's unorthodox style, but quickly dropped to a crouch and lashed out with his foot, knocking Hyogo off-balance. An instant later, he grabbed at the assassin's groin, causing Hyogo to wince in pain, then sliced viciously with his sword. Only by leaping into the air and somersaulting out of the way was the assassin able to dodge the attack, and he landed with a vicious curse.

Kambei quickly got to his feet, and he and Hyogo again began circling one another, then they lunged at the same time, bracing their blades against one another. He was dimly aware of the machine fighting Kikuchiyo, of another one ambushing Katsushiro and the others, of Heihachi dashing downstairs clutching the mechanized crank. The rest of his attention was on the dark-haired samurai, and his mind was filled with images of Hyogo thrusting a katana at a helpless Nasami.

"I won't let you stop us," he gritted through his teeth. "And I won't let you touch Nasami-san."

"And how do you plan to stop me?" Hyogo laughed. "After I finish off you and the others, I'll send that whore to Jigoku after you."

Kambei's eyes blazed. "I'll kill you for even thinking about her."

For a moment, Hyogo's concentration was broken, and Kambei went on the attack, circling behind the assassin. But Hyogo quickly got his wits about him again and dodged, parrying Kambei's attacks one after another.

Then the ground dropped out from underneath their feet.

* * *

"What the…!" was all Kikuchiyo got out as he shoved the machine off the end of his sword. Immediately he, Kambei, and Hyogo drove their blades into the ground beneath them to keep from being thrown off balance. Kambei glanced over and saw Heihachi standing at the top of the stairs, his mechanized crank reeling in the cable, and suddenly he realized that the engineer had looped the pulley around the supports on the level below theirs. 

Then Kirara slipped and fell, tumbling down the incline and right off the edge.

"NO!" Katsushiro yelled, diving after her without a thought for his own safety, barely catching her hand in time as she slipped free. He plunged his katana into the ground and tried to brace himself enough to pull her up, but as the slabs beneath him shuddered and dropped, he too was pitched over the edge.

"Katsushiro-_dono_! Here!"

Fortunately, Heihachi snagged him with a well-thrown cable, looping it around his arm and preventing a deadly fall to the ground far below.

"Kambei-_dono_! Heads up!"

A second dowel and cable was tossed to Kambei, who caught it with a gleam in his eye as he turned back to Hyogo.

The white-clad samurai yanked his sword free, got his footing, then charged down the incline at the assassin. Hyogo's eyes went wide as he realized what Kambei was about to do, and he also pulled his blade free to parry Kambei's slashing attack.

Then he realized that Kambei wasn't trying to get past his defenses.

He was trying to knock him off the edge.

Hyogo desperately tried to change the angle of his defense, but Kambei's sword came sweeping at him, and with a single strike, sent him flying backward over the edge and toward the ground below. Only a mid-air twist and somersault to a crouch saved him from a broken neck or from impaling himself on his katana, and he stood to stare angrily at the samurai standing above him.

"I'll send the two of you to hell together, samurai," Hyogo cursed.

High above him, Kambei glared down at the dark-haired assassin. And he silently wondered how far Hyogo would go for revenge…

… on Nasami… and on them all.

_To be continued_…


	8. A Matter of Honor

_Note: At this point, I have only seen the first two Volumes of SAMURAI 7 on DVD (Vol 3 comes out in December, which I intend to get), which is why things take so long to happen in my story. I'm trying to pace myself for when the next DVD comes out. AND I found the soundtrack on CD! Go me!_

_This chapter is much shorter than the rest, because over the Thanksgiving holiday, my grandmother passed away. However, because she of all my family was the only one supportive of my writing, I know she would have wanted me to keep telling my story. So as of Thanksgiving, 2005, this story is for her. I love you, Nana._

_The music for Chapter Eight is "The Reprimand," from one of my favorite scores of all time, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Eight_

"Thank the Fortunes you're alright," Nasami said breathlessly when she and Gorobei met up with the others back at Masamune's workshop. "Gorobei-_san _and I didn't have a chance to warn you about Hyogo and those machines."

"Ha! They couldn't stop us!" Kikuchiyo's bold laughter rang around the workshop. "Even though the rice man nearly did get us all killed." Heihachi blushed, and the big machine samurai slapped him across the back. "But it all turned all right in the end, right?"

Nasami turned to Kirara, who still looked rather pale after her near-death experience. "Are you sure you're all right, Kirara-_san_?"

The priestess nodded. "Just a little shaken, that's all. Unlike when I jumped from that pipe, knowing Kambei-_sama_ would save me, this time I honestly thought I was going to be killed."

Gently the samuraiko rested her hand on Kirara's head. "We have sworn to protect you and your village. None of us would have let you fall, even if it cost us our lives." Her blue eyes met Katsushiro's. "You have taken a life, and now you have saved one. Be proud, Katsushiro-_san_."

The young man started. "Proud?"

Nasami nodded. "From what they tell me, you could just as easily have died trying to save her, and yet you acted without any thought to your own safety. This time, you did not hesitate. Be proud of yourself." She smiled. "But not too proud."

Katsushiro smiled back at her, a little of the tension leaving his face.

Kambei turned to Gorobei. "I gather your earlier foray to the fortress of our enemies was informative?"

The street performer nodded. "We saw why Ayamoro's tolerance for samurai has taken a major decline – an Imperial envoy is here in Kougakyo."

"Is that so?" Kambei mused, and Nasami and Gorobei both nodded. "I wonder what he's doing here?"

"Checking up on the city's progress, most likely," Nasami replied. "And those two samurai, Kyuzo and Hyogo, are actually Ayamoro's bodyguards."

"So, Nasami-_dono_," Gorobei began mischievously. "I thought you said something while we were on our way to Ayamoro's castle… about fighting Kambei-_dono_?"

"You're right," Nasami said softly. "I did."

Kambei looked up, startled. "What?"

Then he saw the samuraiko holding the boken she had wielded the other night against Katsushiro.

"I haven't forgotten this morning," she said coldly. "And while I put it out of my mind long enough to get on with the task at hand, I won't let it go any longer."

"Great samurai, I'm sure that he didn't mean any offense," Kirara began, but a look from Nasami froze her in place.

Kambei got to his feet, his expression grave. "You cannot deny who you are."

"If you are that determined to see me only as Sasuraitsuru, then you will face me as such." She picked up a second boken that Masamune had made and held it out to him.

He shook his head. "No."

"You refuse!" she said in disbelief.

"I will not fight you using boken." He drew his own katana and pointed it at the sword in her obi. "If you truly intend to fight me as Sasuraitsuru, you will do so using _Mamorimasu_."

And Nasami smiled.

* * *

"You realize that you two are being completely foolish about this," Gorobei said a few moments later as Nasami and Kambei stepped into the courtyard behind the workshop, holding their katanas. Both of them ignored him. 

"First strike, or first blood?" Nasami asked softly.

"Not to the death?" Kambei countered, and she shook her head.

"I have absolutely no desire to kill you, nor you, me, I should think."

"They why do it at all?"

Her eyes were angry, and yet, Kambei was surprised to see a deep sadness beneath her anger.

"Because it must be done."

They both took their stances. The others gathered near the doorway, afraid to make a sound, watching as the two samurai stared one another down, their swords poised, their focus absolute.

For a long time, neither of them moved, grey eyes locked on dark blue.

"Is it true that you've never lost a duel?" Kambei asked suddenly.

"No. I lost one. Only one."

Then they lunged at the same instant, swords sweeping straight at one another, fierce _kiai_ shouts echoing around the courtyard. Kirara gasped and buried her face in her hands.

In a moment, Nasami and Kambei were each standing on the opposite side of the courtyard from where they had started.

"You've got to be kidding me," Gorobei breathed in amazement.

"What… what just happened?" Katsushiro whispered as the two samurai stood there, neither one of them moving.

"I don't know, it happened so quickly that I couldn't see anything," Rikichi stammered.

Kirara removed her hands and looked at Nasami and Kambei standing there, facing away from one another, their hands at their sides.

"What is it? What happened?" She looked from one person to another, but all were staring in incredulity at the two samurai in the courtyard.

"That has got to have been the most perfect duel I have ever seen," Heihachi said reverently.

Then Kambei turned around, and Kirara saw that his katana was again back in its saya.

"A neat trick, Nasami-_san_, resheathing my sword in a single instant."

Nasami glanced back at him over her shoulder. "No more so than you doing the same thing to me." She also turned around, and the others could see that her katana also rested in its saya once again.

Then her eyes widened when she saw what Kambei was holding in his hand.

A long tress of white hair.

"It would appear that you have been defeated again, Nasami-_san_," Kambei said quietly, about to turn away.

"I don't think so, Kambei-_san_." The samuraiko's voice was filled with barely contained laughter.

He turned back in absolute disbelief as Nasami held up her own hand.

She was holding a long tress of brown hair.

* * *

"That was unbelievable!" Hours later, over dinner, Katsushiro was still raving about the earlier duel, his green eyes enormous in admiration. "I've never seen anything like it in my entire life! Two absolutely perfect strokes in the space of a heartbeat!" 

Nasami was seated on her pallet, working on something with her katana, and she chuckled. "Relax, Katsushiro, and eat your rice, before you pass out from hyperventilating."

"He's young, let him be, Nasami-_dono_," Gorobei said with quiet amusement. "You forget, such skill in swordplay hasn't really been seen by most since the Great War, and almost never from a woman. A little hero worship every now and again isn't a bad thing."

"What are you doing, great samurai?" Kirara asked Nasami in curiosity.

Nasami held up her katana, and the girl saw that samuraiko had woven the long locks of hair she had captured from Kambei around the intricate carvings of the tsuba of the sword.

"What's that for?" Kikuchiyo asked as Masamune oiled the joints in his arm. He nearly squashed the mechanic flat leaning over to look at the sword more closely.

Heihachi answered for her, his mouth full of rice. "It's traditional for samurai to keep some reminder of those they have fought, especially in a duel. If the fight was a particularly grueling or closely-matched one, they will carry it with them in the hopes that the other samurai's honor and skill will guide them."

Nasami nodded. "As I told Kambei-_san_ earlier, I only ever lost once. However, I have nearly lost on several occasions."

"And what have you kept from those times where you nearly lost?" Kikuchiyo asked bluntly.

"Kiku!" Komachi scolded the enormous samurai. "Now you're being rude."

"For one, I have these." The samuraiko's smile was grim, and she lightly touched her face where the scars crisscrossed it.

"What about you, _sensei_?" Katsushiro asked the older samurai. His eyes went to Kambei's sword, and was disappointed to see that Nasami's hair did not grace the weapon as his did with hers.

Kambei looked away. "I do not carry such reminders with me, except in my memories. That is enough."

"Well, at least we know for sure that we've recruited an excellent samurai," Gorobei said with his usual dry wit. "Anyone who can hold her own against Kambei-_dono _is someone I'm glad is on my side."

The others laughed and settled in for the night, and even Kambei smiled as he stretched out on the floor.

But long after the others had gone to sleep, the samurai lay awake, staring into the darkness. In his mind, he relived the duel over and over, remembering every second from the instant he had set foot in the courtyard to the moment he had seen his own hair in her hand. He had fought in hundreds of battles and duels over the course of his life, but apart from Kyuzo, he had never dueled against a samurai so highly skilled. And as with Kyuzo, there was no doubt in his mind that Nasami could have killed him if she'd wanted to.

From within the folds of his white robes, he drew the long plait of hair he had stolen from Nasami, and stroked the shimmering length thoughtfully.

"You were right, Nasami," he whispered to himself. "You are more than just the legend Sasuraitsuru."

He replaced the white plait where he kept it near his heart.

"And more dangerous."

_To be continued..._


	9. From Bad to Worse

_Note: The other day, I found a really good quality recording of Christopher Field's GOTHIC POWER (if you've seen the 'Lord of the Rings' trailers, it's that big, epic battle music in it), and then starting working on a 'trailer' for SAMURAI 7 to this. When I have it done, I'll put it up on my website…_

_It also seriously influenced how Chapter Nine was written._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Nine_

The moon was barely halfway across the sky when a figure rose from its pallet, donned its sword, and moved silently across the workshop. A quick glance back showed that everyone else was asleep.

"Going somewhere, Nasami-_san_?" came a soft whisper, and it was only with a supreme act of will that she stopped herself from whirling around and drawing her katana.

Almost everyone.

Nasami glared at Kambei in the faint light of Masamune's forge. The older samurai was sitting in his usual place near the door to the back courtyard. "Did you have to scare me like that?" she hissed in a barely audible whisper.

"No more than you did to me, moving like a ghost. What in the world are you doing awake at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I saw you go to bed earlier after dinner."

"I went to bed, but I couldn't sleep." He wasn't, however, about to tell her why. "Did I wake you when I got up?"

She shook her head, but even in the dim light, he could see that she looked uncomfortable. "Call it a hunch, but something tells me that things are about to go drastically wrong. I wanted to walk the streets for a while, it usually helps me think."

"You're not walking Kougakyo's streets alone," he said firmly, picking up his sword and rising to cross the workshop. "I'll come with you."

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you saying I can't take care of myself?"

"I'm saying that I could also use some night air and a chance to think."

For a long moment, the two samurai stared at each other, wondering what the other was thinking, but finally Nasami nodded and turned to leave, Kambei falling into step beside her.

"What about the others?" she asked as they reached the door, gesturing to the sleeping figures.

"They'll be all right for a little while."

* * *

Most of Kougakyo was asleep at this hour, but a few places were still open – certain restaurants, teahouses, or geisha houses were still entertaining clientele. By unspoken consent, the two samurai gave these places a wide berth, to avoid drawing attention. 

"So what's this hunch of yours?" Kambei finally asked Nasami.

"Nothing I can put my finger on, it's just this… this nagging feeling I have." She waved her hands before her in a frustrated gesture. "Have you ever been outside just before a storm breaks, when for just a little while, everything feels still, but you can feel it building up?"

Kambei nodded.

"That's what it feels like for me right now, and I don't know why. Ever since I saw that Envoy at Ayamoro's palace."

They walked in silence for a little while, and Kambei was aware that Nasami was tense, never looking over her shoulder but alert to her surroundings all the same. He wondered briefly if she had somewhere in mind as she walked, or if she really was just wandering the city aimlessly as her mind churned over the problem.

Then she stopped in the middle of the road, and looked up. He lifted his head to follow her gaze.

Ayamoro's castle loomed above them. And walking along the walls was Hyogo, one of the two samurai that the Magistrate employed as his bodyguards.

Kambei suddenly turned to Nasami, who was staring up at the palace with a grim expression on her pale face, one hand gripping her katana.

"You're also worried about that samurai," he said slowly as realization dawned. "The one you dueled and who tried to ambush us earlier."

Nasami nodded.

Then she drew a deep breath, and headed up the path that she and Gorobei had followed the day before to spy on Ayamoro's castle.

"Where are you going?" Kambei asked her.

The samuraiko turned to him in the moonlight, her eyes dark blue and silver and full of shadows, and replied, "You know the old proverb, Kambei-_san_. 'It is always wise to know more about your enemy's fate than your enemy does.'"

Kambei frowned, but followed her on silent feet as she began to climb. It was extremely slow going and laborious, but Nasami and Kambei moved with the grace of cats, taking care with each placed step. At last, they reached the small cliff that overlooked the palace courtyard, flickering with lanterns, and Nasami crouched down to stare at it.

"Ayamoro's either extremely confident or overwhelmingly stupid," she said softly as Kambei crouched down beside her. "He knows that his assassins and his samurai have been bested on multiple occasions, and yet he's done nothing to improve the security of his palace."

"According to Kirara, the Magistrate's son and his chief henchman know of the peasants' search, although he doesn't know why they're seeking to recruit samurai," Kambei replied. "And rumor has it that this has also reached the ears of the Imperial Envoy as well."

For a while, they watched in silence as Hyogo crossed the courtyard, then Kyuzo appeared and nodded to him. The dark-haired samurai turned and headed inside, while the fair-haired samurai stepped up to the wall and began to make his rounds.

Suddenly Kambei caught his breath, and she turned to him in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"Look there," he whispered urgently, pointing along the east wall. Nasami narrowed her eyes and tried to see what he was looking at. Then she saw it as well, and her eyes widened.

A lithe shadowy figure was making its way along the outside ledge of someone's room.

Holding a sword.

"Oh, no," she breathed in horror, rising to her feet, but Kambei grabbed her wrist and yanked her back down.

"Are you completely mad?"

"You're not telling me to just sit here when someone's about to get killed!" she hissed, wrenching herself free from his grip, but Kambei tightened his hold. "Let me go!"

Nasami again tried to pull herself loose, and on the third try, succeeded. She immediately turned to go sprinting back down the path, but Kambei tackled her, brought them both crashing to the ground, and clapped his hand over her mouth.

"There's nothing that you can do, Nasami!" he insisted through gritted teeth. "If Ayamoro or his men catch us up here, it doesn't matter how noble our motives were, we'll all be executed-" He cursed as she bit him, yanking his hand away.

And in that instant, Nasami brought her hands to her mouth and let out a piercing, complex whistle. Once, twice, a third time.

Kambei and Nasami froze as far beneath them, Kyuzo's head came up to stare at the cliff above him. Then he suddenly turned and dashed back inside.

"What have you done?" Kambei whispered in dismay.

"Old habits die hard," Nasami said grimly where she lay trapped beneath him. "That was the signal that one's castle has been infiltrated. Kyuzo had no choice but to react to it as if it were true, which in this case, it is. With any luck, they'll catch the assassin and keep him from reaching his intended victim."

"But now Kyuzo knows we're here," Kambei cursed, pushing himself up off the ground and dragging Nasami to her feet. "You've endangered us both because of your damnable honor."

With surprising strength, Nasami backhanded him full across the face, and Kambei reeled backward from the force of the blow.

"Then go ahead and run," she said, her voice as icy cold as Kambei had ever heard it. "Spend the rest of your miserable life knowing that a death was on your conscience as surely as if you'd wielded that sword yourself."

The samuraiko turned on her heel and started making her way back down the path, but then stopped. Without looking back, her voice came drifting up to him, low and full of regret. "You disappoint me, Kambei."

He stood there for a few moments in the moonlight, his hand against his cheek where she had hit him, and wondered why even though she had struck him across the face, it was his heart that ached.

* * *

Neither Nasami nor Kambei told the others of their late night foray to the Magistrate's castle, but the truth came out the following day, as Kambei, Heihachi, Gorobei, and Rikichi went looking for other samurai. Katsushiro had stayed behind at Masamune's to protect Kirara and Komachi, while Kikuchiyo and Nasami each went off on their own separate ways. 

Everywhere they went, news was being carried of the murder of the Imperial Envoy at the Magistrate's home, and of the citywide samurai hunt that ensued as a result.

"It would seem that Ayamoro's bodyguards were not able to stop the assassin in time," Kambei mused, and Gorobei and the others turned to him in surprise.

"How do you know that?"

Kambei winced inwardly. "Last night, Nasami-_san _and I went on another spying mission to the Magistrate's house. We spotted the assassin making his way into the castle, but there was nothing we could do to stop him."

"I see," Heihachi said slowly. Gorobei said nothing, and Rikichi looked down at the ground.

Kambei was in no mood to start giving details about his wanderings last night with the samuraiko. "At any rate, we'd best get moving. If the price on our heads really is that high, the last thing we need to do is stand here and invite trouble to come find us."

The four agreed to split up temporarily to hasten their search – Rikichi with Heihachi, Gorobei with Kambei.

Kambei wandered along without saying much, and the street performer watched the samurai brood in amusement for a while.

"Real romantic, Kambei-_dono_," came Gorobei's dry comment, and Kambei turned around in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Come now… a pretty samuraiko like Nasami-_dono_, and all you can think to do in the moonlight is go on a spying mission?"

Try as he might, Kambei couldn't help reddening, and Gorobei's constant chuckling behind him didn't help.

But both samurai sobered as unfriendly eyes followed them everywhere they went, and it was clearly becoming obvious that the odds of finding samurai skilled enough not to get caught were diminishing rapidly.

"You may have spoken too soon," Gorobei sighed as they went to meet up with Rikichi and Heihachi. "Any samurai smart enough not to end up in jail right now has probably gone to ground. With the exception of us, that is."

Sure enough, they saw that Heihachi and Rikichi had also failed to recruit any samurai, and despondently they made their way back to Masamune's workshop.

"Has anyone seen Kikuchiyo, by the way?" Heihachi asked after a few minutes.

"No, why?" Kambei replied.

Heihachi smiled ruefully. "Well, he is kinda hard to miss, and I figured with him roaming around on his own, he'd have brought the city down around our ears already."

But the woodcutter's answer came sooner than he'd thought, for no sooner did the foursome arrive back at the mechanic's place than Kikuchiyo came dashing up, with a group of ragtag samurai behind him.

"Look, Kambei! Now you can have your pick of the litter! Almost too much to take, huh?" he said proudly.

"That's one way to put it," Heihachi said, wincing.

Gorobei sighed with disapproval. "And just where did you find them?"

"I broke them out of jail."

Kambei and Gorobei looked over the fifteen or so samurai standing behind Kikuchiyo with a practiced eye, then Gorobei shook his head. "Losers, every last one of them."

At his comment, the samurai growled and drew various weapons, but Kambei stepped before them, his hand on his katana. He had been looking for a reason to fight, and demonstrating to Kikuchiyo the ineptitude of the samurai he'd brought with him would suffice.

Then he attacked. For a handful of moments, all that could be heard were the various curses of the samurai as Kambei dealt with them, the ringing of sword on sword, and the thuds of bodies hitting the ground.

Then it was over, and Kambei was standing in the middle of a circle of bodies lying groaning on the ground, and he sheathed his sword with a deliberate and disdainful gesture.

"You see?" he said to Kikuchiyo as Kirara, Komachi, and Katsushiro arrived. "Useless."

Things really started turning bad when Masamune arrived with the news that the Magistrate's men were on their way, and just got worse when Nasami came sprinting back to the workshop with the news that the letter carriers had betrayed Kirara and Katsushiro.

"They know," she gasped as she nearly bent double from the effort of running nearly the length of Kougakyo. "Ayamoro and the others… they know we're going to Kanna…"

* * *

"It doesn't matter that they're still looking for samurai," Nasami said later as they sat around the fire in Masamune's shop. "We'll have to leave Kougakyo and fast – there's no way we can stay here now." 

"The trick is going to be leaving without getting caught," Kambei reminded her.

The samuraiko sighed, and turned to look at the peasants sitting nearby. Although they said nothing, she could tell that despair had begun to settle in at having to leave without all the samurai they needed, and as wanted fugitives, at that.

Nasami was dimly aware of Kambei and the others planning to use the freight elevator train to escape into the lower levels of Kougakyo, in order to bypass the checkpoints out of the city. Her mind was awhirl with information, ideas, tactics, things that she had learned from years of wandering the Empire.

"Go without me."

Her sudden remark brought all conversation to a halt.

"What do you mean, go without you?" Heihachi asked her, and Nasami turned to him.

"The Magistrate's men are still hunting for samurai, and someone in this city is bound to have told them that the Wandering Crane is in Kougakyo. Even a samurai as above reproach as myself will still be held under initial suspicion, at least until my true identity is confirmed. I can draw off some of the watchmen as you make your escape to the elevator train."

"That's crazy!" Kikuchiyo said in surprise. "Why the hell would you deliberately let yourself get caught?"

"Didn't you do the same thing earlier, just to break those samurai out of jail?" she asked pointedly, and Kikuchiyo fidgeted. "My point is, if I can distract even some of the city guardsmen while the rest of you escape, I can meet up with you later."

"Where did you have in mind?" Gorobei asked.

"The Village of Respite is between Kougakyo and Kanna Village," Nasami replied. "It's a busy enough place that I can meet you without it being conspicuous, and it's theoretically beyond the jurisdiction of Ayamoro."

"It's still a terrible risk, great samurai," Kirara protested. "What happens if you get caught?"

"Even if I do get caught, Ayamoro will throw me in jail temporarily, but as soon as my true identity is discovered, they'll have to let me go." She waved her hand dismissively. "That is, assuming they actually do catch me."

"You do realize that his two samurai have it in for you now," Kambei said coldly. "First you bested Hyogo in a duel, and then you nearly get caught by Kyuzo while spying on Ayamoro. Exactly how many times do you intend to risk your neck?"

"As many times as it takes," she replied cheerfully, getting to her feet. "Well, then, I'll see you in the Village of Respite. Good luck!"

"Nasami!" Kambei called as she reached the door, and Nasami turned back. He stared into her eyes for a long moment, and then lowered his head. Suddenly the thought of losing the samuraiko was enough to take his breath away. "Be careful."

Nasami smiled, and then disappeared into the twilight.

_To be continued_…


	10. Escape from Kogakyo

_Note: This may sound stupid, but I was ridiculously proud of myself when I saw the updated stats for THE SWORD OF THE SOUL, with over 200 hits to my story. (DANCING WITH SNOWFLAKES is not that far behind it.) That people actually keep reading it never ceases to amaze me._

_And my trailer for SAMURAI 7 is done and on my website (which you can find the address for by going to my profile)! Go me!_

_Chapter Ten's music was anothere one of my "I was looking for this and found it when I stopped looking" pieces of music- "Escape from Mantua" from ROMEO AND JULIET, Vol 2._

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Ten_

Nasami made her way rapidly through the city streets of Kougakyo to the highest point within the city, her senses alert to anyone following her. She routinely dodged down side streets, moved through shadows, and made unexpected turns until she reached one of the observation points of the city. From there, she carefully perched and peered down into the streets, watching as patrols of guardsmen and flying machines moved through town, chasing and arresting samurai or talking to informants. She quietly cursed to herself when she saw the additional men manning the checkpoints in and out of the city as she turned her gaze west.

And went pale.

Twenty guardsmen and at least thirty flying machines were heading in the direction of Masamune's workshop.

"No…" she breathed. "I won't let you get to them."

She drew her katana, leapt down from the observation point, and started running.

"You're sure they're samurai?" a guardsman was asking a local informant not far from the mechanic's workshop. The beggar nodded and pointed toward the alley where Masamune's workshop was located.

"Saw 'em comin' and goin', all from the old mechanic's workshop. More each day."

"Excellent, form up and we'll apprehend them," the leader of the patrol said with approval. But he didn't get two steps down the lane when a howling war cry filled the air.

"What the..." The others turned and had barely an instant to register a figure standing above them at the top of the stairs, katana in hand. Suddenly it sprang down at them, swinging the katana and slashing at them. In a handful of heartbeats, their assailant had taken out at least six guardsmen and almost a dozen machines.

"A samurai!" one of the other guardsmen yelled as the swordsman's katana cleanly sliced another one of the flying machines in half, while the operator inside tumbled to the ground in a dead faint.

But this samurai was like none of the ones they had captured or chased so far. Those had been men still clinging to dreams of power and prestige or dissolute wastrels no longer even half the warriors they once had been.

This one moved with all the power and strength of the samurai in their prime during the Great War, skills still just as honed, speed still just as fast.

"Who the hell IS this?" the leader shouted over the chaos.

The swordsman suddenly turned to strike at another guardsman, and he was astonished to see that it was actually a woman, with long white hair and pale blue and silver armor.

Realizing that their foe was a far superior one than the samurai they'd encountered before, the guardsmen pulled closer together, much more cautious now.

"All samurai will be taken, dead or alive," one of the remaining men growled. His eyes rested on her long hair. "Even if you are a woman."

Amazingly enough, she smiled, but it was a cold smile, showing the absolute confidence in herself that only true samurai ever possessed. "Don't let that stop you from trying."

The guardsmen charged.

For another several moments, her deadly dance among the patrol continued, and then she turned and dashed back up the stairs.

"GET AFTER HER!" their leader screamed, urging on those still on their feet. "Five of you, get to that workshop and capture those other samurai!" As they sprinted after her, he was dimly aware that the ones she had attacked were groggily stirring. Part of his mind was absolutely fascinated by her skill - to have disabled that many guardsmen without killing a single one...

Nasami ran through the streets, dodging through crowds and around obstacles as though they weren't even there. Her breath was coming fast, her heart was pounding, but never once did she even think to slow down, because every minute she ran, every guard she drew off, was more time and fewer pursuers for the rest of the group. From time to time, she glanced behind her and saw that the guardsmen were still in pursuit. Instinctively she turned and ducked down an alleyway, sheathing her katana as she did so, the patrol close behind her, but suddenly two flying machines appeared in front of her to block the other end of the alley. They drew the enormous swords they carried and held them before them, clearly intending to skewer her if she didn't stop.

"Damn you, I don't have time for this!" she shouted, and to the patrol's surprise, she increased her speed rather than slowing down.

Leaping into the air, she planted her hands firmly on the tops of the machines, pushed herself off, somersaulted, and landed on her feet like an acrobat.

With the machines between herself and the guardsmen, she shot past the gawking passersby and disappeared into the crowd, her laughter echoing in the guardsmen's ears.

* * *

At the workshop, Kambei and the others had not been idly wasting the time that Nasami had bought them. Thanks to the samuraiko's efforts, of the original twenty guardsmen and thirty machines that had been sent after the samurai and peasants, only five guardsmen and two machines still remained. Kikuchiyo had barricaded the door, and then the group had traversed a narrow series of tunnels in order to arrive at the old elevator train. 

While Masamune and Heihachi worked frantically on the engines, Kambei and the others watched while keeping their eyes on the sliding door of the freight depot.

"We must hurry, _sensei_," Katsushiro urged. "That door won't hold the guards off much longer."

"Patience, Katsushiro," Kambei said softly. "All things happen in their time."

All the same, he turned and climbed up into the train to check with Heihachi and Masamune. As soon as he saw that they were ready to go, he ordered the others inside, quickly tied up the mechanic, and chucked him out of the car just as the door crashed down.

"Looks like I've gotta buy us some time!" Kikuchiyo shouted cheerfully as Heihachi climbed up onto the gears. Swinging his enormous sword, he kept the guardsmen at bay long enough for Heihachi to get the train moving, and with a ringing laugh, he jumped off the ledge to land on the descending train. "See ya, suckers!"

Cursing, the guardsmen sent up a flare, which Katsushiro's anxious eyes tracked as it blazed into the sky.

"You look worried, Katsushiro," Kirara said. "What's wrong?" She turned and glanced out the window to see another flare race up into the night sky. "Oh… I see, they're warning the other guards about us and where we are, making it easier to catch us."

"No, that's not it."

She glanced at him in surprise. "You mean you're not worried about us getting caught?"

"I'm worried about Nasami-_dono_," Katsushiro said quietly, his mind filled with images of Nasami single-handedly fighting groups of guardsmen and flying machines while trying to make her own escape from the city. "Going up against who knows how many guards alone… and what happens if she sees that signal flare and tries to come help us? It's bad enough we're being chased, but we'd be leading Nasami-_dono _right into their hands."

"I know," the priestess replied. Her eyes met Komachi's, and she saw that the girl was just as worried-looking as they were. "I don't know if I could have done it, drawing off guardsmen just to give us a chance to escape. Especially if they don't care if the samurai are alive or dead."

"What will happen to her if they catch her, great samurai?" Rikichi asked Kambei, who rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, as she said, it is entirely possible that her identity will protect her from most of the Magistrate's wrath. However, the fact that all samurai are under suspicion, and especially if anyone learns she knew who we are and didn't turn us in, these are things that may make things… difficult for her."

"Will… will she die?" Komachi asked fearfully, her eyes enormous in her face, as Kambei picked up Heihachi's mechanized crank and started climbing the ladder. Then, without turning around to look at them, he sighed.

"I don't know, Komachi-_chan_. I wish I did."

* * *

The wreckage of the train smoldered and sparked in the night air, the heavy smoke of explosives still tainting the breeze. Out of the smoke moved a slender figure, carefully making its way through the debris. Then it stopped. 

"No… in the name of all that's holy…"

Nasami stared at the wrecked train, turned back to where the tracks had been destroyed by explosives, then back at the remains of the elevator train. A small part of her mind, the part that kept her going when all hell broke loose around her, was relentlessly calculating the train's speed and the damage that would have occurred as a result of the crash. "That train must have been moving at nearly full speed when it jumped the tracks…"

All she could imagine was the peasants screaming as the train derailed, the samurai frantically trying to help them escape, the whole thing crashing down…

"NOOOOOOO!" Her scream was one of defiant rage and the beginnings of grief, and suddenly she was on her knees, throwing pieces of debris aside as she searched for survivors, any hint that perhaps they had lived, had escaped. Jagged shards of metal cut her hands and knees as she overturned the remnants of the train.

"Kirara!" she cried. "Komachi! Kambei-_san_! Gorobei-_san_! SOMEBODY!"

She desperately searched the passenger car, the engine car, even the gear pallet above, hoping against hope that she would not find what she so dreaded.

"That hurt."

Nasami straightened and turned, as pale as a ghost. "K… Kikuchiyo-_san_?" she whispered.

The machine samurai emerged, shoving a large sheet of metal off of him with a loud clang and a curse, and she scrambled to her feet and ran over to help him up.

"My God! What happened!"

"The damned cowards blew up the tracks to keep us from getting away. Guess captured wasn't good enough for them anymore, so they went for dead." He started rummaging through the wreckage for his sword, idly tossing enormous fragments out of the way as he searched.

All at once her knees gave way and she sank to the ground. "No… Kirara… Komachi… all of them…" She buried her face in her hands.

"Oh, they're fine. Including the sprout."

Her head came up, her eyes filled with a wild hope. "They… they made it?"

Kikuchiyo nodded. "Yeah, Kambei came up with a plan to have them all jump to the platform as the train went by. Had this weird idea of using a smokescreen so those guards wouldn't see them escape. I had to slow the train down so they could get off, but those stupid flying things just wouldn't leave me alone long enough to jump with them. So I told them to go on without me… hey, what the hell are you- get off!"

The samuraiko had leapt to her feet with a shriek of laughter and had thrown her arms around Kikuchiyo as far as they could go.

"You saved them! You saved them!" she laughed over and over, relief racing through her with an almost painful rush.

"I… saved them?" Kikuchiyo said, his voice soft with wonder. "But… it was Kambei's plan… and Heihachi was the one who got the train moving…"

"But you were the one who slowed it down, and you were the one who stayed behind until the very end to make sure that the others were safe!" she said, leaning back to look up at him. "That is true courage, Kikuchiyo-_san_, something to be honored!"

"Yeah… yeah, you're right!" he said, brightening. "So, Nasami-_dono_, what do you say we ditch this dump and get moving?"

* * *

After what felt like forever, they finally arrived at the road that made its winding way down to the Village of Respite. Even from this far away, the sounds of music and laughter could be heard echoing up the mountainside. 

"So what is this place anyway?" Kikuchiyo puffed as they started down toward the city.

"A place where rank and power mean nothing," Nasami replied. "Samurai, peasant, merchant, magistrate, it doesn't matter. The Village of Respite is, as its name implies, a place where such things are left at the city gates, and for a while, you can relax."

"Sounds good to me."

"You and me both, Kikuchiyo-_san_. Only one thing… don't go waving that sword around, or you'll get tossed out. Just keep things low-key until we find the others. Agreed?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said dismissively, and she came to a stop in front of him, glaring up at the big machine samurai.

He looked down at her. "What?"

"I mean it, Kikuchiyo. If the others escaped, the last thing we need to do is attract the guards' attention."

"I thought you said none of that matters here!" he protested.

"Traditionally, yes. But do you honestly trust Ayamoro and Ukyo to respect the rules of a place that defy their authority?"

He scratched his head, then shook it. "Not really, no. Fine, I'll be good."

As they rounded the last bend before the gates of the village, Nasami suddenly stopped again and glanced around.

"What now?" Kikuchiyo asked, but no sooner were the words out of his mouth when a patrol of Ayamoro's men came out of the gates.

"Hide!" Nasami hissed. She shoved Kikuchiyo off the road and hid with him behind a large boulder.

"Damn it, are these guys everywhere?" Kikuchiyo rumbled.

"Given the ingenuity of the samurai we know, I didn't think the guardsmen were so foolish as to give up that easily."

"And your next bright idea?"

She watched the guardsmen split up to patrol along the canal that wound its way around the village, and her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Can you swim?"

"Why?"

"Good, thought so, let's go."

They carefully moved to where they could enter the canal out of sight of the gates, and slowly started swimming along the city walls.

"We should enter the city separately," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the flowing water. "That way, even if they do suspect something, they won't catch us together."

"Sounds good to me." For a moment, Kikuchiyo nearly gave Nasami a heart attack as a too-curious guardsman got yanked into the canal along with them, but Kikuchiyo was then out of the water and over the wall before the guard could raise the alarm.

"You big idiot," she muttered, cautiously emerging beneath the bridge that led directly into the village gates. For a while, she rested there, catching her breath and letting her clothes dry out. She heard people making their way across the bridge as the hour grew later, then she heard the clunk of the gates shutting for the night. Finally she decided it was safe to enter the city, so she stepped out from beneath the bridge, when the metallic whisper of swords being drawn stopped her dead in her tracks.

Nasami's hand instinctively went for her katana as at the edge of her vision, she caught a glimpse of long black hair, and of a lithe figure in red.

A lazy voice drifted out of the darkness.

"Good evening… _Sasuraitsuru_."

_To be continued_…


	11. I Won't Let You Defeat Me

_Note: As I had mentioned to Sleepwalking Dreamer, this whole story, like much of what I write, is written to music. And what better music to use for the clash between the two finest duelists in the Empire but John Williams' 'Duel of the Fates'?_

_My trailer for SAMURAI 7 is done and on my website (which you can find the address for by going to my profile)! And my second video, a Katsushiro/Kirara tribute (which kicks major butt, if I do say so myself), is now up on the website too! Go me!_

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Eleven_

"You!"

Hyogo smirked. "Thought you'd never see me again, Nasami-_san_?"

"Well, I'd say it was more of a hope than a thought." Her hand rested on her katana at her side as the dark-haired samurai stepped out of the shadows. "I heard three swords. Tell your friend to come out as well."

Hyogo made a slight gesture, and Kyuzo also stepped out onto the road. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he studied the samuraiko, but he didn't say a word.

For a long moment, the three samurai stared at one another. Finally, Nasami broke the silence.

"So what happens now?"

The dark-haired samurai shrugged. "My lord has ordered the arrest of all samurai. Between that and your attack on a patrol of the Magistrate's guardsmen, we would be well within our rights to kill you right now. Then there's the little matter of your assistance of known fugitives. Yes, I think bringing back your head would be just what my lord would wish."

"Give it your best try."

"I don't see any of your friends here to help you."

The samuraiko refused to back down.

He pointed his katana at Nasami. "However, killing you outright would be… boring."

Nasami slowly drew her own katana and held it at the ready. "Of course… you'd rather make me suffer first."

"Well, you did shame me. And I have sworn to see you and that other samurai bastard in hell. I will have this chance to restore my honor."

The samuraiko laughed in his face. "How do you expect to restore what you never had in the first place?"

"Insolence!" he shouted, lunging at her. With a howl of rage, Hyogo's blade swept straight at Nasami, who deflected it with a loud clang. For a moment, they stood braced against one another, their blades locked, then with a deft twist, Nasami wrenched her katana free and forced Hyogo back across the bridge.

A single word from Kyuzo stopped him.

"Wait."

Angrily, Hyogo rounded on him. "Wait for what?"

Kyuzo stared into Nasami's eyes, and she gazed back at him unflinchingly. "She is Sasuraitsuru. You can't kill her."

"Shut up, Kyuzo-_dono_, you don't know what you're saying," Hyogo growled, taking another step toward the samuraiko. If I wish to, I'll fight her!"

"You'll lose." The fair-haired samurai's voice was low and completely matter-of-fact.

Hyogo's breath hissed between clenched teeth, but as he watched Nasami, her attention absolutely focused on them, he realized he would not have the advantage of distraction as he'd had in their earlier duel. Then, Nasami's attention had been divided between the peasants, the assassins, and himself. This time, there would no be no such distraction. She was also more familiar with his skill with a sword, and he would not be able to pull the same tricks twice; she was simply too skilled.

He angrily stepped back. "Fine. What do you suggest?"

"Bring Tessai and the rest."

"And what about you?"

"I'll deal with her."

Nasami's eyes went wide in her face, as did Hyogo's, and he turned to the other samurai in surprise.

"What? You couldn't defeat an old man, what makes you so sure you can beat her!"

"You're hardly one to criticize, Hyogo-_san_," Nasami said dryly. "You couldn't defeat Kambei-_sama_, either."

Hyogo took a single step toward her, but Nasami raised her sword to point it at him. "Take another step, Hyogo-_san_, and I'll kill you, I swear it."

Without another word, Kyuzo slowly walked around Hyogo to stand between him and Nasami, his back to the other samurai.

"Kyuzo…" Hyogo said finally, and Kyuzo only slightly turned his head to look back at him.

The smile on the dark-haired samurai's face made Nasami shudder. "Make it hurt."

* * *

For a long time after Hyogo left, Nasami and Kyuzo stood before each other, the only sound the soft rushing of the water beneath them.

"I have no quarrel with you, Kyuzo-_sama_," Nasami said quietly.

"I know."

"So why fight me?"

"You're samurai."

He deliberately moved into his stance, one sword held in an unorthodox backhand grip, the other held in a protective angle. Never once did his eyes waver from hers as she moved into a slight crouch, her katana held before her in both hands at a diagonal across her body.

"Good luck," she whispered.

"And you," he rasped.

Then they struck.

With an almighty ringing and a shower of sparks, katana met katana, but Kyuzo whirled to one side, slashing at Nasami with his other sword. She leapt backward to get past his reach, parrying his second attack, then slid her katana the length of his in a fierce stab. Instinctively Kyuzo leaned back to avoid the blade, and she pressed her advantage until he brought one of the swords around in a backhanded upswing toward her extended arms.

He was astonished to see Nasami let go of her sword long enough to pull her arms out of the way, then snatch up the falling blade as she rolled beneath his strike and past him. Kyuzo sprang toward her, bringing both swords together in a pincer strike, but Nasami swiftly blocked both strikes, then slashed at his head. He ducked in reaction, using one sword to block her strike, the other to drive her back.

The samurai pressed forward again, lifting both blades over his head, then brought both of them down, one a second after the other to make it harder for her to parry and then counter-attack. Nasami responded by raising her own katana to take the brunt of the attack, and Kyuzo forced her to her knees from the weight of the blow. Abruptly she stopped resisting, and he was temporarily thrown off-balance by suddenly falling forward, and the samuraiko took the moment's reprieve to tuck in her legs, brace them against his chest, and send Kyuzo flying over her head. No sooner had she gotten to her feet than she also swept the katana downward, but even as Kyuzo whipped one of the blades around to deflect her attack, she dropped to one knee and stabbed forward past his guard. His breath hissed through his teeth as the katana sliced painfully across his ribcage, but he kept her from skewing him through the heart by leaning closer to her, getting inside of her guard just as she did to him and backhanded her across the face while still holding his katana. With a curse, Nasami rolled into an upright crouch and swung the katana in a wide circle to force Kyuzo backward out of range.

His eyes went wide for a moment, recognizing the attack for what it was.

"Courage."

She nodded as she got to her feet.

"You know the Seven Swords." It was a statement, not a question, and she nodded again.

And oddly enough, he smiled.

This time she went on the attack, using one sword as quickly as he used two, their blades moving in an elegant dance of thrust and counter-thrust, attack and defense. But no matter how hard each tried, the other always managed to block or evade, and it quickly became apparent that they were nearly perfectly matched in skill.

Slowly Kyuzo advanced off the bridge until they were both standing again on the road. For a moment they stood there, then they began to circle one another, katanas at the ready.

Again he attacked, and she brought her katana up to block. It felt like forever, his swords braced against hers, neither one of them yielding. Their faces were barely inches apart; she could feel his breath on her cheek and smell the blood soaking his trench coat, while Kyuzo was intensely aware of the heat of Nasami's body as she stared him down.

"You're good," he said.

"Thank you."

"But not good enough."

Then with the speed of a striking snake, he brought both swords down toward her to drive her further back. But the instant the swords were parallel to the ground, she leapt straight up, braced her katana against his, and lashed out with her feet. As they connected with his face, Kyuzo let out a grunt of pain as he staggered backward, and she vaulted over him to land behind him. Shifting the grip of the katana in her hand, she spun around and brought the katana up hard to crack against one of his swords, sending it flying to embed itself in the road.

Barely pausing, he took his sword in both hands and attacked her with a flurry of strikes, forcing her back across the bridge and right up to the city gates. Nasami threw herself to one side, but Kyuzo caught her across the right arm with his katana, opening a deep gash, and Nasami bit back a cry of pain. But she dove past him, snatched up his other katana, and also held it at the ready.

Suddenly behind her she heard voices, and a quick glance back showed that Hyogo was returning with Tessai and a patrol of guardsmen and flying machines. She looked back at Kyuzo.

"I won't let you beat me," she whispered. "I can't."

His only reply was to stare at her.

"Please, Kyuzo-_sama_, this is pointless."

"Our lord wants you captured. Hyogo wants you dead."

Her voice trembled, but her grip on the swords was unwavering. "And what do you want?"

"I don't care."

Then Nasami changed her hold on his katana and threw it straight at him like a javelin. The samurai easily dodged it, but then he realized that she wasn't throwing it at him.

She was throwing it at the gate.

Just as the sword embedded itself into the wood, Nasami was running right along behind it, lightly sprang into the air until she was standing on the sword, and vaulted up onto the top of the wall. As Kyuzo made to follow her, she put her fingers to her mouth and let out a loud and complicated whistle, the same one she had made the night that the Envoy was murdered.

Kyuzo froze, staring up at the samuraiko atop the wall. "So it was you on the cliff."

She nodded.

"Why warn us?"

"The Seventh Sword." She held up her left hand, palm forward, so Kyuzo could see the long scar that ran across it. "Because I'm samurai. And so are you."

His grip on his sword tightened, but he didn't move. Both of them ignored the group of men that was coming down the path to the gates. Kyuzo advanced to draw his other sword out of the wood, and with a deliberate gesture, he yanked it free, never once taking his eyes from hers. Then at last he bowed his head slightly.

"Go."

And as Hyogo and the others reached the bridge, Nasami leapt down the other side into the city.

* * *

"Kyuzo, you fool! Why in hell did you let her go?" Tessai was practically ranting about the samuraiko's escape.

Kyuzo's stare was implacable.

"It doesn't matter," Hyogo said, although his own anger at Kyuzo was palpable. He was, however, partially gratified to see the blood on Kyuzo's sword as the other samurai carefully cleaned it and resheathed the blade. "She'll lead us right to the others."

"We'll have to get inside first," Ukyo drawled, and Tessai beat against the gates. But when they refused to open, Kyuzo scaled the wall, disabled its defense system, and opened the doors for the patrol.

As Hyogo walked past him, he leaned close to the other samurai and whispered, "Mind you, I'm not going to forget about this."

Kyuzo ignored him.

As the patrol and the samurai made their way through the city, the populace stared at them and their weapons in dismay. One man, however, made his way straight toward the group and eagerly bowed.

"I found them!"

"Where?" Ukyo asked eagerly.

"They're at the Firefly House," the informant replied, his eyes greedy in the light of a nearby inn.

"And have you seen a woman dressed as a samurai?" Hyogo's eyes burned with an almost unholy glee at the thought of catching Nasami again, especially after Kyuzo had wounded her sword arm.

"A samuraiko? Pale armor, white hair, pretty?"

"That's the one."

"Yeah, she was heading toward the Firefly House as well. At least I think she was. And for a little extra, I'll take you right to them."

Hyogo's only response was to draw his katana, and the informant quickly decided that this deal was wasn't worth the effort, so he turned and tried to run, but Tessai reached out and grabbed his arm, twisting up behind him.

"The Firefly House?" Tessai asked quietly.

"It's a teahouse and geisha establishment," the leader of the patrol said. "It's nearly impossible to miss."

"A geisha establishment?" Ukyo said in horror. "And to think that my Kirara is in such a place!"

"Take us there," Tessai told the informant.

* * *

Kambei and Shichiroji were sharing a bottle of sake and idly relaxing in the courtyard of the Firefly house, watching the fireflies dance while the others got some well-earned sleep. The white-clad samurai was filling Shichiroji in on all that had happened since the end of the Great War, and Shichiroji shook his head in amazement.

"You were lucky to get out of Kogakyo alive," he said, sipping his sake and looking at the other samurai.

"We had help."

"Really? What'd you do, bribe a patrol to look the other way?"

"Not exactly, no," Kambei admitted. "Another samurai helped us escape."

"Hopefully he made it out of the city as well. Kogakyo is no place for a samurai to be right now."

"It was a woman, a samuraiko named Nasami."

Shichiroji frowned in concentration. "Nasami… the name sounds familiar…"

Kambei sighed and drained his cup, then replied, "And what about the name Sasuraitsuru?"

His former mate spat his sake out in surprise. "The Wandering Crane? _That's_ who helped you?"

"The very same."

"How in the world did you find _her_?"

"She's one of the samurai that the peasants have hired."

Shichiroji let out a low whistle. "Incredible… not only is she one of the deadliest swordsmen in the Empire, but she's supposed to be beautiful as well. Is it true?"

He wasn't sure, but he was fairly certain that Kambei was turning slightly red. "Well… Nasami-_san_ is attractive, certainly. And she possesses a certain… charm."

The blond samurai grinned wickedly. "I see… yeah, if half the stories are true, she'd be just your type, Kambei-_sama_."

Shichiroji laughed as Kambei glared at him.

"However, to buy us time for us to get away, she single-handedly attacked a patrol to draw them off…" His voice trailed off.

"You're kidding," Shichiroji managed in disbelief, and Kambei shook his head. "Well, I hope for her sake that she has more lives than a cat, because she's going to need them to escape the guard patrols."

"And that's not the only problem... there are also two samurai are after her, both in the employ of Ayamoro." Kambei unconsciously touched the scar on his neck. "Both are skilled swordsmen, and one will stop at nothing to kill her. But Nasami-_san_ is nothing if not resourceful."

Shichiroji looked thoughtful. "This bodyguard of Ayamoro's who wants to kill Nasami-_dono_… what's his name?"

"Hyogo, I believe."

"Dark hair, pale skin, wears glasses, good swordsman?"

Kambei nodded, and Shichiroji chuckled.

"If it's the same one I'm thinking of, it's small wonder he wants her dead."

Kambei studied his former mate. As the manager of the Firefly House, Shichiroji was privy to a great deal of gossip. "And why is that?"

"Well, rumor has it that an assassin was present at the Emperor's court to try and kill one of Nasami's companions. Nasami was at the time slated to duel another samuraiko, Kesaiko, for dishonorably killing Nasami's older brother. The assassin poisoned Keisaiko's sword, and even though Nasami won the duel, the poison nearly killed her. Then the assassin killed a diplomat and tried to frame another of Nasami's friends. Nasami and her companions eventually exposed the assassin, who was subsequently executed before the entire court."

He poured himself another drink, and then his eyes met Kambei's over the rim of the cup. "That assassin was Hyogo's sister."

Kambei nearly choked on his sake, but quickly regained his composure. "I can see the reason behind the grudge."

"Yeah, well, even though Nasami and the others clearly had the law on their side and were justified in executing her, Hyogo hates her for it. You see, he was there, but because his sister was careless enough to get caught, he couldn't intervene."

Suddenly shouts outside drew their attention, and Kambei instinctively reached for his katana. "A patrol…"

"They can't know that you're here," Shichiroji protested. "No one saw you arrive."

Then a piercing whistle split the air, and Shichiroji was on his feet as it was repeated twice more. "What the hell was that!"

Gorobei and Heihachi came awake in an instant at the sound, also reaching for their swords.

Shichiroji glanced over and was astonished to see Kambei smiling. "Kambei-_sama_…"

"I knew it," Kambei said with quiet satisfaction as Shichiroji's geisha companion Yukino came running, with Kirara right behind her. "I just knew she'd make it."

_To be continued_…


	12. The Price of Honor

_Note: What with shopping, wrapping, and volunteering to work on Christmas, things got hectic. And after the action in the last few chapters, Chapter 12 was hard to write because finally our heroes have a chance to catch their breath. Then I found the music I wanted, and SHAZAM, out it came. This chapter was written to "Seijo Magdalena" from the anime CHRNO CRUSADE. For those who want the song, send me an email or PM and I'll send you the link._

_I also created a forum under the SAMURAI 7 page about my story, for those of you who are always sending me suggestions and ideas and comments and such. So check it out!_

I cried after reading some of the reviews you all have written for me (a bit embarrassing at work, mind you). So to all of you who have written reviews or sent me PMs or emails telling me you are using my story as inspiration, or rah-rah-rahing on Kambei and Nasami, or that you like the videos I did, or just how much you are enjoying my story, THANK YOU.

_Happy holidays!_

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Twelve_

Yukino moved listlessly through the Firefly House, directing the servants who were cleaning up after the patrol came through, her mind on other things. All she could think of was Shichiroji leaving with the samurai and the peasants, going off to fight the Nobuseri…

Suddenly she stopped, her eyes caught by a faint movement at the other end of the courtyard. As she looked closer, she saw a figure leaning against the far wall in the darkness.

"Wh… who's there?" she called softly, and the figure's head lifted weakly to look at her, and the geisha was astonished to see that it was a woman.

"Please," the woman whispered hoarsely, sagging to her knees, and Yukino hurried across the ornamental bridge to the other side of the koi pond, barely in time to catch the woman as she nearly fell.

"You're samurai, aren't you?" Yukino asked, her eyes quickly taking in the other woman's clothes and the sword she wore at her waist. She turned and called for one of the servants to bring her fresh clothes and a bowl of hot water as the samuraiko winced in pain from the geisha's prodding fingers.

"My name is Nasami. And you?"

"I'm Yukino."

"I came here… looking for a group of samurai and peasants traveling together." She closed her eyes for a moment as the servant brought the supplies Yukino had requested, and the geisha went to work on Nasami's injury, a shockingly deep gash across her right arm.

Yukino's eyes widened. "You mean Katushiro and Kambei and the rest?"

Nasami nodded, biting her lip as Yukino cleaned the wound and began to bind it. "Yes… I was supposed to meet them… here in the Village of Respite. But the Magistrate's men had other plans, it seems." She opened her eyes again and looked around. "I tried to get here before the patrol did… but with my wound and the fact that there were a dozen men looking for me along with the samurai… I couldn't come near the place without getting caught. I hope the others got away safely."

"Yes, they escaped here by boat along the river. Kambei-_sama_ heard some weird sound that let him know they were coming so he could wake the others in time."

"Weird sound?"

Yukino frowned as she worked. "Yes, it was like the call of a bird, or a whistle…"

"That was me letting him know the patrols were after them." Nasami laughed weakly. "And he said such behavior was foolish."

"After that, Shichiroji… my… my lover helped them escape."

"Thank the Fortunes," Nasami said in relief as Yukino tied off the bandage and helped her to rise. Then she stopped and took another look at the geisha, who lowered her eyes respectfully.

"It wasn't just Kambei and the others who left, was it."

Yukino nodded miserably. "Shichiroji went with them." And all at once the words came out. "I'm sorry, great samurai, I shouldn't be complaining, I always knew that Roji wasn't done being a samurai, but I had just hoped that he would stay… but then Kambei-_sama_ came, and in an instant, I knew it was over."

"I'm sorry," Nasami said softly, and Yukino stared at her in astonishment. Nasami glanced at her and faintly smiled. "You're surprised that a samurai would offer sympathy to a geisha? Don't be… at least not with me."

"I shouldn't be surprised," Yukino replied, "not after I saw how kind the others were when they came here for help."

"It's just that… when you talk about him, even in those few brief moments, your voice changes and your eyes become soft, and though he's been gone just a short time, you miss him terribly."

The geisha's mouth fell open, and Nasami chuckled. "I grew up in the court, Yukino-_san_, I learned to read faces like one would read a book. I would have to be blind not to see how you love him."

"You don't… disapprove, then?" Yukino whispered. "Not many samurai look favorably on one of their own living in such fashion with a woman who is not his wife, even in times such as these."

"Life is too short not to love," Nasami said simply, shrugging, then she winced again as the movement jostled her injury. The geisha's gray eyes met the samuraiko's dark blue ones, and for a moment, they were not separated by the wide gap of class, but united as two women in loneliness.

But then Yukino looked away, trying to hide her tears. "Forgive me, great samurai."

"There's nothing to forgive. But I have to go after them. Do you know where they're headed?"

Yukino helped the samuraiko back across the ornamental bridge. "Roji said he would take them through the lair of the Shikimoribito, the Guardians."

She led Nasami down the secret passage to the canal. "There's another boat tied to the docks that the servants use to fish. Take it and go after them." She pointed off into the darkness. "That way lies the lair of the Guardians. About fifty yards down the canal, it opens onto the lake that flows into their territory."

"Thank you," Nasami said quietly, stepping into the boat and lifting the pole to propel herself along the canal. Then she stopped and looked back at Yukino, who stood near the steps, her arms wrapped around herself, her eyes sad.

"Be brave, Yukino-_san_. He will come back."

"But how can you know, great samurai?" Yukino whispered, hope and sorrow mingled in her voice.

Nasami smiled as she began to propel herself forward again. "Isn't that how the best love stories end?"

And then she was gone.

* * *

"Great samurai, there's someone else coming!" Honoka was breathless from practically running toward her house, Rikichi coming up behind her. 

Kambei reached for his katana, along with Shichiroji, Kikuchiyo, Gorobei and Heihachi. "Someone else? Who is it?"

"I don't know, but one of the other people here said they saw a boat approaching!"

"You don't think it's Ayamoro's men, do you?" Shichiroji said quietly to Kambei.

"It's difficult to say. I gathered that they weren't supposed to be here in the first place."

"Neither are we, for that matter," Gorobei chuckled.

"Oh, stop whispering and let's just go pound them!" Kikuchiyo growled, getting to his feet and picking up his sword. "It beats sitting in here and worrying to death."

Kambei and the others exchanged glances, and cautiously moved outside, taking care to remain hidden in the shadows. Kirara and Komachi also anxiously watched through the windows from where they kept watch over Katsushiro.

"No one move until I say so," Kambei whispered, and the others nodded. Their hands rested on their swords, while the peasants harvesting the strange sap of the Guardians turned to look at the boat approaching the shore. Slowly the boat drifted up onto the sand.

Heihachi glanced up at the roof of the cavern, and saw that the Shikimoribito were also watching the newcomer with that expressionless look they all had. "I wonder if the Guardians are going to allow whoever this is to stay."

"There's no telling," Gorobei replied, his eyes also moving upwards to watch the still figures hanging from the ceiling. "But they let the boat get this far. I guess that's a good thing."

"Great samurai! Oh, thank the gods you're all right!" Kirara cried when she saw Nasami step onto the shore near the Metal City. Coming out the door, she ran down the path to where the samuraiko was standing at the water's edge, the others coming behind her.

"So, you finally got here, huh?" Kikuchiyo boomed, and Komachi glared up at him.

"Knock it off, Kiku!"

"I'm just kidding, sprout," he chuckled as Nasami laughed. "I'm glad to see her, too."

"As am I," Gorobei said in relief as the samuraiko bowed in greeting to the group. "After you attacked that patrol, we were starting to worry."

"A minor annoyance," Nasami replied, waving her hand dismissively, her eyes rapidly looking over the group to make sure everyone was there and all right. "I was more concerned about that train wreck."

"Well, that plan didn't quite work out as we'd hoped," Heihachi said ruefully, rubbing the back of his head. "But in the end, we're all alive and well, so I guess it's okay."

Nasami glanced around and suddenly frowned. "Where's Katsushiro?"

Shichiroji gestured back toward Honoka's little house. "In there, resting. Ukyo took a potshot at him with a crossbow and he caught an arrow in the thigh. It's hurting quite a bit, but he's trying to sleep."

Nasami studied the blond samurai for a moment, and then smiled. "So you're Shichiroji-_san_. Your lady was worried about you."

Shichiroji looked down at his feet. "I hated leaving her like that, but…"

The samuraiko nodded. "You never stop being samurai. She's waiting for you to come home, though, so don't disappoint her."

Abruptly Shichiroji cleared his throat and turned to look at Kambei. "So aren't you going to say hello to her, too, Kambei-_sama_?"

The others turned as well, realizing that of all the people there, only the white-clad samurai had not spoken. He was staring at Nasami's arm, where bloodstains from her duel with Kyuzo were still visible. Then he lifted his eyes to hers, and turned away, walking back to Honoka's house.

"Why speak when there is nothing to say?"

Kirara stared at him as he entered the house. "How rude! He could at least have said hello to Nasami-_sama_!"

Shichiroji suddenly chuckled. "Ah, it's all right, Lady Kirara. Kambei-_sama_ is just as glad to see her as you are."

"He's got a weird way of showing it," Kirara said flatly as she and the others also made their way back to the house.

Nasami fell into step beside Gorobei, her eyes on the little house. "Like you said, Gorobei-_sama_… he is most definitely samurai, for better or worse."

* * *

"What happened to your arm, great samurai?" Rikichi asked as Nasami passed him while coming inside, his eyes wide as he took in the bloodstains on her clothes. 

She looked down at the injury. "I had a run-in with Hyogo and Kyuzo."

Kirara glanced at her in alarm. "You mean those two samurai bodyguards of the Magistrate?" Nasami nodded. "You could have been killed! I mean, Hyogo nearly crippled you the last time you fought, and Kyuzo…"

"Kyuzo actually stopped Hyogo from fighting me," Nasami said quietly, aware that Kambei was watching her closely. Her hand drifted uneasily up to her arm where the stoic samurai had nearly sliced through it. "He challenged me himself, instead."

"But you beat him, right?" Komachi said brightly, but Nasami shook her head.

"No."

"No?" Kikuchiyo echoed in disbelief. "You're telling me you couldn't beat that scrawny-"

"It's not about physical size or strength, Kikuchiyo-_san_," Nasami said, cutting him off impatiently. "It has everything to do with bushido. He had no real desire to kill me, or I'd be dead now. And in the end, he let me go."

"He did what?" Gorobei said in amazement.

"He let me go."

"But why?"

"I don't know," Nasami said softly. "Maybe because he owed me for trying to save the Envoy. Maybe because he didn't want to see another samurai cut down by Ayamoro's men. Maybe because he didn't want Hyogo to kill me. I have no idea."

She got to her feet. "Anyway, I'd like to check on Katsushiro, if he's awake."

"Of course, great samurai," Kirara said hastily, getting up as well. "He's in this room here." She and Komachi led the samuraiko into the other room, where she carefully studied Katsushiro's wound. Kikuchiyo sprawled out on the floor for a nap, while Gorobei and Heihachi began to discuss plans for leaving the caverns and heading to Kanna.

Grinning, Shichiroji sidled over to where Kambei sat. "Well, well, well, old man. You are definitely a master of understatement."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"'A certain charm?' Don't you have eyes?" Shichiroji said in amazement. "Or maybe you haven't realized that by not saying anything, you've spoken more clearly than you ever could have with words."

"I didn't realize that you gave up being samurai to become a matchmaker," Kambei said coldly, getting up again with a scathing glance at Shichiroji.

His former mate followed him to the door. "What are you afraid of, Kambei-_sama_?"

Kambei stopped without turning around. "Myself."

And he left.

A short while later, Nasami came back out into the main room. "Well, he's starting to run a fever. Kirara's tending to him, but we won't know for some time yet if he'll be all right." She looked around. "Did Kambei-_san_ leave?"

"He just needed some fresh air," Shichiroji said casually, and Nasami studied him through narrowed eyes. The blond samurai grinned and tilted his head to indicate which direction Kambei had gone.

"Right. Well, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to look around this place."

"It seems perfectly safe, great samurai," Rikichi said respectfully as he also made to rise. "After all, the farmers who live down here seem quite content to be working out in the open."

"But safe or not, we can't stay here forever. I'll be back shortly."

She made her way around the cavern, sometimes pausing to talk to the peasants who worked to cultivate the odd trees of the Shikimoribito, other times to look up at the Guardians hanging from the ceiling and waving at them. Her eyes took in everything about the place, instinctively assessing defenses, possible means of attack, other methods of escape. At last, she came upon Kambei standing near the water's edge out of site of Honoka's house, staring out over the lake at the Metal City.

As Nasami approached, she saw his whole body tense up at the sound of her footsteps, and he didn't turn around as she stopped just behind him. For a while, she stood there and waited for him to say something, but he remained silent.

"Does it hurt?"

His question startled her. "What?"

"Your wound. Does it hurt?"

She shrugged, this time more carefully. "Not as much since Yukino helped me tend it. Kyuzo-_sama_ got past my guard at one point and I wasn't fast enough to dodge. He truly is an exceptional swordsman, and I should think far too honorable to work for someone like Ayamoro. But he didn't get away unscathed either, so I guess in the end we're even."

Kambei still didn't look at her. "Do you always take such gambles with your life?"

"'A lifetime spent avoiding danger is no more safe nor satisfying than a lifetime spent pursuing it,'" she replied.

"Always quoting." He sighed and bowed his head, and Nasami gently put her hand on his shoulder.

"Please, Kambei-_san_, what's wrong?"

For a long time, he didn't reply, and she had just given up on ever getting an answer when he finally turned and looked at her. At first, his eyes roamed over her face, then they dropped to her injured arm, and at last to her hand where it rested on the sword, her fingers unconsciously touching the long strands of his hair that she'd entwined in the guard of the katana.

"You can't come with us any farther, Nasami-_san_."

She drew back, startled. "What are you talking about?"

"You have to turn back."

Angrily she shook her head. "No."

"Nasami-_san_…"

"I gave Kirara my word that I would fight for her and the other villagers. I can't go back now, it would be dishonorable."

"_Please_." The near-pleading tone of his voice stopped her protests in her throat, so that all she could do was whisper.

"Why?"

Then Kambei drew his own hand out from the folds of his clothes, and Nasami could see what he held.

The long tress of hair he'd taken from her during their duel.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You did keep it."

"Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"In my heart, I know that you cannot come to Kanna with us, no matter what vow you have made or how much you wish to help," he said. "Once we arrive at Kanna Village, we will all be branded traitors. But we are all ronin, we have no lord to answer to, no family to mourn us. But if the Emperor ever learned that you were here, not even your quest for enlightenment will save you if they found out."

His fingers tightened around the silky white strands. "You and your entire family could be executed, your clan shamed in disgrace. And I cannot allow that to happen, no matter how much your presence might help our cause, no matter how much I…" All at once, he stopped. "You have to go back, Nasami."

His eyes met hers, and all of a sudden neither of them could look away from the other. Without realizing it, he took a step closer to her. "But I wanted something to remind me of you."

"Of me?"

He nodded.

"Kambei…" she whispered.

"Yes?"

Nasami also moved forward so that their bodies nearly touched. Staring up into his dark grey eyes, she moved her hand so that it was resting on top of his as he held the long white locks of her hair.

"I'm not leaving."

_To be continued_…


	13. Samurai No Longer

_Note: Here it is, the moment that many of you have been waiting for – the rematch between Hyogo and Nasami. Knowing how canon goes, I was well aware of the fact that I couldn't have her kill him, but… when you think about it, after the end of Episode Eight when Kikuchiyo is captured by Hyogo and Kyuzo, you never see Hyogo wield a sword again, and he even wields that cannon of his one-handed. Hence I knew exactly how to write this chapter._

_I also had to pick myself up off the floor when I saw the hits to TSotS go straight through the roof, from around 200 at Chapter Ten to over 500 by Chapter Thirteen! YA-HAAAAAAAAAH!_

_I am consistently adding new topics to my forums (you can find it from my profile or on the SAMURAI 7 page), please feel free to visit!_

_Oh, and because everyone wants to know... the music choice for Chapter Thirteen is actually two pieces from the same place, because of the drastically different tones of the two parts of this chapter. The first part is "The Rite of Destiny" from the game QUEST FOR GLORY V, while the second part is "The Rite of Justice."_

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Thirteen _

The katana came up with almost aching slowness, then arced downward and around in a wide circle. Dancing in a series of weaving strokes, it was sheathed for the barest instant before being drawn again. Each stroke was focused, each twist and turn executed with masterful skill. The blade gleamed with an almost supernatural glow, silently cutting through the air with graceful moves before at last coming to rest.

Nasami sighed and rested her forehead against the dull edge of the blade, her eyes closed wearily. Not even the long-familiar movements of the kata could calm her mind, even if she practiced until she was ready to drop from exhaustion. Her fingers curled instinctively around the pommel of her katana, her fingertips brushing the tsuba and the long locks of hair winding through it. "This cannot go on," she whispered softly to herself. "It must not."

"Nasami-_dono_?"

The samuraiko straightened up and glanced over to see Kirara approaching her, hesitation apparent in her every move, and she smiled at the water priestess. "Yes?"

"I... was meaning to ask..." Kirara began, then stopped. Then she took a deep breath. "Can samurai marry?"

Nasami's smile widened. "Contemplating marriage, Kirara?"

The water priestess blushed a vivid shade of scarlet. "No! Well, yes, but... I mean..."

The samuraiko chuckled. "Have you asked Katsushiro yet? I''m sure he'll say yes."

Kirara's blush deepened. "N-no... Not Katsushiro, great samurai."

Nasami arched her eyebrows in surprise. "No?"

"Well... it's... it's..." Kirara fidgeted, and for an instant, Nasami went absolutely still, the brightness of her eyes dimming, and her smile turned slightly sad. There was only one other samurai that would have attracted Kirara.

"I see," she said softly.

That was clearly not the reaction that Kirara was expecting. "You do?"

"I'm not blind, Kirara. I can see how much you admire Kambei-san, and he is certainly appealing in his own way. Between that and the fact that he saved your life, the attraction is understandable."

"But, can samurai marry?" Kirara asked anxiously.

Nasami nodded, sheathing her katana in a fluid gesture, but kept her fingers clutched around the pommel where Kirara wouldn't see them. "Yes, they may, unless forbidden to do so by their daimyo. In fact, many are encouraged to do so, to strengthen their own clans, or to forge ties to another. Many samurai marriages are arranged when the couple are but children."

"But... what about love?" Kirara asked, wringing her hands, and Nasami's smile slowly faded away.

"Love and marriage rarely have anything to do with each other in a samurai marriage, Kirara." She turned to look away, but before she could do so, Kirara was touched deeply at the sadness in Nasami's eyes. "All of one's devotion is owed to one's lord. It is believed that if one loves one's spouse more than one's lord, one's loyalty may be questioned, as can one's honor. There's a saying that 'samuraiko who remain true to their lords find their names in history books, while samuraiko who fall find their names in tragic love stories.'"

"A marriage without love?" Kirara whispered, aghast. "How can a samurai marry and not be in love?"

Nasami stared out over the water, and Kirara's eyes were fixed on the samuraiko's back. So neither woman noticed the silent approach of Kambei, Gorobei, Shichiroji, Kikuchiyo, and Heihachi, who stopped a short distance away.

Nasami went on. "A relationship can be built on more than just love. Respect. Companionship. Trust. Affection. I have known many samurai who consider themselves happily married in relationships such as these."

Kirara slowly stepped forward so that she was standing beside the samuraiko. "But you don't believe that."

Nasami shook her head. "Not for myself, no."

"Why not?" Kirara suddenly realized she was holding her breath, waiting for Nasami's answer.

Behind them, Kambei and the others did the same, watching the samuraiko intently.

Nasami did not move, but closed her eyes in memory. "Because I loved... and I did not know it until it was too late."

Kirara's breath came out in a long, sad sigh. "Oh... great samurai, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

Nasami opened her eyes and turned to look at Kirara, and the priestess was shocked to see that her dark blue eyes were glistening with tears.

"For a samurai, to love is to be forever at war with yourself."

Then as Kirara and the samurai watched, the samuraiko drew her katana, and began her kata once again.

* * *

Later that day, Komachi came running to find Nasami, her little feet flapping as she sprinted toward the samuraiko. 

"Nasami-_sama_! Nasami-_sama_! You have to help Kiku!"

Nasami turned from where she had been investigating some of the tunnels branching away from the Metal City to look at the child. "Why, what happened?"

"Kiku decided to try and be all brave and stuff, and he went after those bandits that were here before!"

"What!" Nasami said in alarm. "He went by himself?"

Komachi nodded, and Nasami sighed. "So why are you telling me this, and not the other samurai?"

"I did!" Komachi protested, waving her arms. "But they all just groaned and didn't listen to me, and I know that you'll help! Besides, I know you like Kiku!"

"And how do you know that?"

"Because they're always mean to him, and you're not."

Nasami's mouth curved slightly at Komachi's backhanded praise.

"Fine, I'll go after him. Which way did he go?"

The child took her hand and began leading her along the shoreline to the tunnel that the Nobuseri and their machine escorts had used earlier. "He told me to go back and not to worry, but you know how much trouble he gets when I'm not there!"

"That's for sure," the samuraiko said wryly as she approached the mouth of the tunnel. "Now listen to me, Komachi-_chan_, I'm only going as far as the exit to look around, and then I'm coming straight back. While I'm gone, I want you to go back and tell the others that Kikuchiyo isn't back yet and I'm going to scout up ahead for a bit."

Komachi looked up at her with wide eyes, and Nasami grinned. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, and so will Kikuchiyo-_san_. Now hurry up, and no sneaking after me like you did after Kikuchiyo!"

The child turned and headed back to Honoka's house where the other samurai were planning the rest of the journey to Kanna Village, and Nasami headed into the dank tunnel alone.

Cautiously she felt her way along the tunnel wall, carefully testing each step, her swords sheathed to allow her to use the wall for handholds. When she was about twenty yards from the entrance, she heard several voices, and an abrupt stream of loud swearing.

"Let go of me, bastards! And stop sticking me with those swords, you're scratching my paint!"

Softly she chuckled to herself, recognizing Kikuchiyo's distinctive voice, and carefully came up beside the tunnel entrance.

As she peered around the edge of the tunnel, she saw Kikuchiyo, tightly bound in a cocoon of rope, being dragged off by one of the Nobuseri. Standing at the foot of the bandit was Hyogo and Kyuzo, watching impassively as the machine samurai was lifted up into the Nobuseri's traveling fortress, cursing the entire way. For a moment she stared at the enormousbandit, searching out vulnerable strike points, gauging places to attack, estimating the range of its weapons, and looking for blind spots in its guard. Then, silently, she drew her katana from its sheath and stepped out of the tunnel, waiting for Hyogo and Kyuzo to figure out she was there.

It didn't take long.

Kyuzo's eyes flicked to her, and Hyogo whirled around to see the samuraiko standing calmly, sword in hand, her back to the cavern entrance. 

"You!" Hyogo cursed. "Don't tell me you've come all this way to rescue that pathetic machine."

"No," she replied.

"No?"

"No."

Hyogo drew his own sword while Kyuzo turned to fully face Nasami.

"So why _did_ you come?" Hyogo asked.

She slowly dropped into her stance, never taking her eyes off the dark samurai.

"And here I thought that samurai didn't believe in murder."

"If I believed in murder, Hyogo-_san_, I'd have killed you long before now. I certainly have enough reasons to wish you dead."

"So what's stopping you?"

"Death is too good for you... but I can't have you chasing me all over the Empire."

The dark-haired samurai's eyes narrowed. "Kyuzo-_dono_… go with the Nobuseri and wait for me. I want to kill this woman, and I don't want you getting in my way."

Kyuzo shrugged and started walking after the Nobuseri carrying Kikuchiyo, while Hyogo also took his stance. For a long time, they stared at one another, neither saying a word.

"I look forward to killing you," Hyogo said at last, his eyes filled with a dark glee.

"You are welcome to try," she shot back, and in that moment, they struck.

* * *

With a ringing clang, the blades clashed, but Hyogo immediately twisted his katana to stab past her guard again and again. Nasami quickly backpedaled, turning her own sword this way and that to deflect each stroke as he forced her back toward the cavern. She swiftly turned away, dropped down to a crouch in mid-turn, then completed the movement by slashing at Hyogo's legs, beneath the arc of his attack. With surprising grace, he leapt up so that for an instant, he was standing on her sword, and he brought his own katana down in a sudden slash. With a gasp, she somersaulted forward beneath him and rolled to her feet as he landed lightly. 

Hyogo tried to take advantage of her momentary pause as she got up, but she was faster than he, and she very nearly caught him off guard with a lightning-fast backward thrust. Only by staggering backward was he able to dodge the blow, and she laughed out loud as she repeatedly drove him back with several slicing attacks.

"What are you laughing at!" he shouted angrily, stabbing ferociously at her face, and her laughter was abruptly cut off as the edge of the blade caught her across the cheek, carving a narrow gash that slowly began seeping blood.

"Be grateful," he smirked. "At least no one will notice under those other scars all over your face."

She growled and swept her katana down with all her strength, nearly taking his arm off in the process. As he threw himself to one side, she ripped the saya from her obi and slammed it across the back of his head, pitching him forward. As he stumbled, trying to catch his balance, she lunged forward, twisted around, and backhanded him across his face with the saya, catching him right in the mouth. He stumbled and fell, spitting blood, and Nasami followed up by driving the sword downward in a sudden stab, aiming for his knee. His eyes went wide as he realized that she intended to cripple him as he had done to her, and he rolled backward just as the blade passed through where his knee had been a second earlier.

Nasami recovered her own balance just as Hyogo got to his feet, and for a moment, the two warily circled one another. Growling, he lifted one hand to wipe the blood from his mouth.

"Leave it there," she taunted. "It looks good on you."

"Shut up," he hissed, feinting to the left then attacking her open right side. Only a lithe twist of her torso kept the katana from skewering her through the heart, but he still opened a long gash across her midriff, and she bit back a gasp of pain. But she wrenched her mind back under control, and as he passed close enough to her to feel his breath on the back of her neck, she brought her head back to smash it straight into the bridge of his nose, and blood sprayed from the impact. He howled in pain, and she pivoted and decked him across the cheek with the guard of her sword, opening a long gash on his cheek like the one he had given her earlier. Hyogo blindly swiped at her with his katana, but she easily deflected the attack away and drove the edge of the pommel into his shoulder, nearly dislocating it and sending him reeling. As he got his feet back under him, she turned again and brought her sword back into a guard position.

"You call yourself a samurai," he rasped as blood streamed down his face. "What happened to that much-touted honor of yours, brawling like a common street performer?"

"'All actions are honorable in war,' or did you forget?"

She attacked again and again, constantly forcing him to move to avoid the flashing blade. No matter where he turned, Nasami always seemed to be there.

"If you were that good of a swordsman, you should be able to defeat me, and here you are, struggling just to keep up," she mocked.

"If you were that good of a swordsman, you shouldn't hesitate to truly strike," he replied.

Nasami's mouth tightened, and her eyes narrowed. "Is that so?" she said, her voice low and dangerous. "Then allow me to show you what a samuraiko can do."

Faster than even he could follow, she leapt forward. He dropped to one knee and stabbed straight at her abdomen, but with the grace of a dancer, she whirled, lifted the katana over her head, and brought the sword down with all of her might.

Not at Hyogo, but at his sword.

And with a clear, ringing crack as loud as thunder, _Mamorimasu_ cleaved straight through Hyogo's blade and shattered it.

In the very next instant, she twisted the sword in her grip, sidestepped behind Hyogo to his other side, swung the katana around to build its momentum, and then brought the dull edge of the blade down against Hyogo's outstretched left forearm. And he screamed as he felt the bones give way.

All of a sudden, Nasami was standing above him, her bloody katana pointed straight at his face. He glared up at her, but with no sword and one arm broken, there was no way he could defend himself, and both of them knew it.

With a practiced move, Nasami flicked the blood off her katana and re-sheathed it, then turned to walk away.

Then she turned to look over her shoulder, first at him, then at the broken sword lying in the dust. She turned back, and bent down to pick up the two halves of his sword. "If you had truly been samurai, your sword would not have broken." Then she started walking away again.

"Where… do you think… you're going?" Hyogo choked out, clutching his broken arm.

She looked back at him in surprise. "I would say that this fight is over. Unless you think you can defeat me with one arm and no weapon."

"I'll kill you for this, I swear," he hissed, getting to his feet at last, but as he did so, Nasami was suddenly right in front of him, the point of his broken katana poised directly over his heart.

"You tried to abduct an innocent woman, attacked my friends, and almost killed me. Your sister caused my brother's death, tried to assassinate me, murdered three honorable samuraiko, and nearly killed the Magistrate I was serving at the time," she said softly. "I should kill you right now. A single thrust, and you would be dead at my feet."

She abruptly stabbed forward until the edge was an inch from his body, then she stopped.

"But that would make me no better than you… or your sister."

Slowly Nasami stepped back and lowered the katana, then she turned and walked off in the direction that the Nobuseri had gone.

"Give Yashiko my greetings," her voice drifted back to him. "When you see your sister in hell."

_To be continued_…


	14. Trust and Betrayal

_Note: I was so totally stoked when I found out that Volume 4 of the SAMURAI 7 DVDs comes out February 7th (I of course have a little trick when it comes to that, and no, I won't share). This of course is good news for me, since I am just now hitting the beginning of Volume 3 in my story. I also wanted to laugh when I saw how many people were rooting for Nasami to beat the living daylights out of Hyogo. Fear not, more uber-combat will be coming soon. _

_Don't forget to swing by my forums and send your comments my way! This is your chance to suggest music for later chapters, tell me things you want to see (or not), all sorts of good stuff, and there's a poll!_

_The music for Chapter Fourteen (the longest chapter so far) only became obvious as I was finishing the chapter – from a little known soundtrack with phenomenal music, the track is "Hanging" from PLUNKETT & MACLEANE. For those who want the music, there's a zipped file on the Multimedia page of my site with all the music, save Chapter One._

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* * *

The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Fourteen_

Kyuzo looked Hyogo up and down as the dark-haired samurai approached, taking in the blood on his face and his broken arm. "So you lost."

"And to a woman, I hear?" the bandit Sobei rumbled in amusement. "I'm surprised, Hyogo, I would have thought that Ayamoro would have hired more proficient assassins."

"Shut up," Hyogo hissed as he entered the fortress. "This hurts enough without your added sarcasm."

Kyuzo said nothing, but helped Hyogo out of his trench coat in order to examine his broken arm more closely. Sobei leaned forward to peer at the assassin. Up close, he could see where Hyogo's nose had been broken, he'd nearly lost a few teeth, and his cheek had been gashed open.

"Not bad... she's better than I thought, if she was able to defeat you this thoroughly." The bandit glanced at Hyogo in surprise. "What happened to your sword?"

"That white-haired whore broke it."

"She did what?"

Hyogo grimaced. "She shattered the blade clean in half with a single stroke and then left with the two halves. Satisfied?"

"Perhaps we should be working with her instead of you," Sobei said in amusement.

"Not Sasuraitsuru," Kyuzo stated. "She won't do it."

"And what makes you such an expert?" the bandit demanded.

Kyuzo shrugged. "She's samurai, not ronin."

"She will be if her clan ever finds out about this," Hyogo said with relish. "Defying a local magistrate, assaulting the magistrate's men, aiding wanted fugitives..."

"Be grateful."

Hyogo turned to Kyuzo, startled. "Be grateful for what?"

"She didn't kill you."

"I'm glad she didn't... I want to be there when they force her to commit _seppuku_."

"Where is the samuraiko now?" Sobei asked.

"I don't know," Hyogo admitted as Kyuzo bound his broken arm, and hissed in pain as the bindings were tightened. "Damn her."

Suddenly one of the Yakan combat flying machines came in, and a stocky warrior climbed out, holding a small lizard in his hand.

"We've just received word from our spy that the peasants of Kanna Village have hired samurai to protect them from the Nobuseri, and that they are now taking shelter in the caverns of the Shikimoribito."

Hyogo and Kyuzo both turned.

"You mean the samurai and peasants we encountered in Kogakyo are headed to Kanna?" Hyogo asked, and the man nodded.

"Including that mechanical oaf that we took captive. Excellent," Sobei rumbled. "Genzo, take some of your men and head to Kanna Village. Give them a chance to give up these samurai to us. If we can save ourselves some trouble, I see no reason to ruin a perfectly good operation if I don't have to. Besides, we can always wipe them out for insubordination after we've taken their rice."

"Yes, sir."

"Did the spy provide any other information?"

"Yes, sir. The samurai are apparently planning to head out tomorrow morning. Our spy will be leading them out of the caverns using the southeastern cavern exit."

"Good. Go and prepare your men to deliver my warning to Kanna."

"Yes, sir," Genzo replied, bowing. He climbed back into the flying machine and headed into the interior of the Nobuseri's flying fortress.

"Well, now we know where they're going," Hyogo said in satisfaction. "Now all we need to do is deal with the samurai."

"A task you have so far proven yourself woefully unable to carry out," Sobei reminded him, and Hyogo growled in frustration. "And now that you have no weapon, you are hardly in a position to stop them."

"I need no sword, Sobei-_dono_," Hyogo replied smoothly, moving toward the wall where the Nobuseri kept weapons stashed for their men. He lifted down an enormous cannon singlehandedly and turned back to Sobei, the huge weapon balanced easily on his right shoulder. "This will do just fine."

* * *

While Hyogo and the other Nobuseri planned their ambush of the samurai, Nasami watched closely from where she crouched hidden, searching for a way to enter the fortress undetected. After besting Hyogo in combat, she had made her way toward the Nobuseri's fortress as fast as she could, overtaking the bandit and their samurai captive, thanks mostly to Kikuchiyo's loud swearing and constant struggling. 

For over an hour, she had watched as the fortress had hovered, waiting for the return first of the Nobuseri and Kyuzo with Kikuchiyo, then later when Hyogo arrived. Even several years after the Great War, she was still disgusted at what the Nobuseri had turned themselves into, and what they had done with their power. "How they ever called themselves samurai…" she said to herself in contempt. "I've seen _eta_ with more honor."

Slowly she stepped out from the overhanging where she'd been watching, but had only gotten a few steps when a sudden flaring of red light began sweeping the local area.

Nasami cursed and dove back toward the overhang just as the beam crossed where she had been standing only moments earlier.

"Oh, this is just what I need. Counter-intrusion measures." She watched and began counting as the beams criss-crossed back and forth across the ground beneath the fortress, waiting for a moment of opportunity.

"Now!" She sprinted for the fortress as fast as she could, ignoring the burning pain of the wound Hyogo had opened across her ribcage and the familiar ache in her knee. Finally, nearly out of breath, she came to a stop at the base of the fortress and looked up. While there were numerous handholds she could use to climb, she could see several weapons clusters positioned all over the structure to prevent anyone from scaling it from the outside. This, however, was no challenge to her after her years of studying the fine art of covert warfare, and she carefully began to climb, pausing every few moments to make sure that she wasn't seen. After what felt like ages, she was able to see inside, and saw Kikuchiyo tied up and hanging from the ceiling, as well as Hyogo, Kyuzo, and the Nobuseri she'd seen earlier.

"So what is the plan now?" she heard Hyogo ask, and her eyes filled with scorn when she saw the cannon he was carrying.

"We may as well plan a welcoming committee for the samurai when they exit the caverns from the southeastern exit," Sobei replied. "Since we know where they'll be, we'll wait for them to emerge. But I don't want them dead just yet. I want to see just how strong they are first."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to just kill them outright?"

"Perhaps," the Nobuseri mused. "But if they are as formidable as that samuraiko you faced, then even an ambush will not be enough. And besides, even if they get away, Genzo and his men will have turned the farmers against the very samurai they hired before they even get there."

Kyuzo gave the Nobuseri a barely concealed look of disdain, then turned and left the chamber.

"I grow tired of his insolence," Sobei said, his voice low.

"Do not worry, Sobei-_dono_, I will deal with Kyuzo in due time," Hyogo replied, hefting the cannon meaningfully. "After all, accidents do happen in battle."

"No…" Nasami whispered. As much as she hated the idea, she was forced to admit that rescuing Kikuchiyo would have to wait. For now.

As night slowly gave way to dawn, she made for the Shikimoribito caverns. In the dark, finding the specific exit that the spy had named proved incredibly difficult, but she finally thought she had located the correct one, and carefully made her way inside.

"After all," she said aloud, "it won't do us any good if the samurai are caught before we even get to Kanna."

A sudden loud rustling above her caught her attention, and she whirled around and looked up at the ceiling. The stoic gazes of several Guardians were focused on her as she carefully backed away from them, but they said nothing as she turned and stepped into the slowly flowing water to reach the others. From the outside, she had compared the location of the cavern to the one she had exited hours earlier, and was fairly confident that she could find her way back to the samurai and the peasants.

But after two hours, she slowly came to the horrified realization that she was lost.

"Oh, no…"

She tried to retrace her steps back to the mouth of the cavern, but only succeeded in wandering down another tunnel that looked totally unfamiliar. A noise from the ceiling startled her, and she nearly lost her footing in the stream.

She looked up at the ceiling again, where the Guardians hovered like so many bats. "Shikimoribito-_sama_," she called, uncertain if they could even hear her or understand her. "Can you please help me find my way back to the main cavern?"

No answer came, and she growled to herself. "Damn… fine, I'll get back there myself. Somehow." She started down the tunnel again when she heard voices coming from farther in.

"It's this way, great samurai, we're not far from the exit now."

"Excellent. You were right, Lady Honoka, with all the twists and bends we would not have been able to find our way out." Nasami recognized Kambei's voice, and was aghast to realize that Honoka was the spy that the Nobuseri had mentioned.

"KAMBEI! GO BA-" she started to shout, but in an instant, one of the Shikimoribito had dropped from the ceiling and clamped its hand firmly over her mouth before she had time to react. Nasami struggled wildly, but she was yanked off her feet and dragged up toward the ceiling where the other Guardians lurked, out of view of the approaching samurai.

The sounds of their splashing through the waist-high water abruptly stopped. "Did you hear that?" she heard Heihachi say.

"What's wrong, great samurai?" Even from here, she could hear the worry in Rikichi's voice.

"It must have been our imagination," Kambei replied at last. "Let's keep moving, the longer Kikuchiyo's off on his own, the more trouble he's bound to be in."

"And what about Nasami-_dono_?" Shichiroji asked as they passed underneath her. "Komachi said she'd be back by now, but it's been hours without any word from her."

Nasami kicked and fought to get free, but the Guardian's grip was like iron, and she flailed helplessly as the samurai and Honoka waded past her toward the exit.

"I'm sure she's fine, she can take care of herself," Gorobei said in amusement.

Eventually, the sounds of their passage faded away, but still she fought to get free from the Shikimoribito's grasp.

"Do not struggle."

She stopped suddenly, her eyes turning to meet the Guardian's gaze, his hand still over her mouth.

* * *

"Yes, we do speak. No, do not try to free yourself just yet. The samurai must reach the cave entrance." 

Nasami frantically shook her head, trying to speak.

"I will release you, if you will swear on your honor as a samurai not to cry out and warn the others."

She shook her head again, anger gleaming in her eyes, and she renewed her struggles to break loose. But then a loud thundering echoed down the cavern and she froze, her eyes turning to the tunnel that the samurai had followed.

"Excellent," the Shikimoribito said in satisfaction, and suddenly Nasami found herself being lowered to the ground, along with several other Guardians. As soon as his hand was removed from her mouth, she rounded on them in fury.

"You knew Honoka was a spy!" she shouted, her katana instantly in her hand. "You knew that the Nobuseri would be waiting outside to ambush them!"

"We did," her captor said quietly.

"Then why in the name of all that's sacred didn't you try to help them? Are you that close to the bandits that you would betray honorable men?" She advanced on them, but the Guardians did not back away.

Without warning, one of the other Shikimoribito reached out and took her by the wrist, pushing up the sleeve so that the tattoo on her right arm was revealed. "With your schooling, you should know that 'you cannot fight a foe you do not know exists.'"

Nasami went still. "What do you mean?"

"We are aware that Honoka is a spy for the Nobuseri. But the Nobuseri do not know that we are aware. In using Honoka as a tool for deception, they have given us a tool against them as well."

"But you're using the samurai to strike at the Nobuseri!"

"Yes. Which is why we could not allow you to warn them. If the Nobuseri suspected that we knew Honoka was a spy, they would cease using her for information, and our ability to gain information from that source would be lost."

Nasami growled.

"We understand your frustration. And we sincerely apologize for putting you in this awkward position. It was for this reason that we used a pharmaceutical dart on the young samurai Katsushiro, so that he would soon be well enough to fight alongside the other samurai. Please forgive us."

The Shikimoribito bowed as one to the samuraiko, who after a long moment, bowed in return.

"So what happens now?" she asked, resheathing her sword.

The Guardians stepped aside and gestured down toward the main cavern. "If you will come with us, we have much to discuss."

Nasami nodded, and one of the Shikimoribito placed his arm around her waist and fired a grappling hook at the ceiling. Swinging their way along the cavern, Nasami and the Guardians vanished into the darkness.

* * *

The Shikimoribito had been right. The samurai easily bested the Nobuseri who had tried to ambush them, even after Hyogo fired a shot at Kambei that nearly took his arm off. But when Kyuzo arrived on the battlefield and started dismantling Nobuseri with his swords, in the end, the remaining bandits and Hyogo retreated to the safety of their fortress while the samurai regrouped in front of the cavern.

* * *

"Come on! Come on, kill me already… you afraid to spill a little oil?" Kikuchiyo ranted at Hyogo as he hung in the cavern after the dark-haired samurai had returned. "Come on, you soft-handed weakling chicken bastards!" 

"Silence!" The machine samurai's cursing stopped abruptly as Hyogo rammed the end of the cannon against his helmet. "You know, I really do enjoy this gun. It has a versatility that a sword simply lacks."

"Oh, a samurai with a gun, you're a disgrace!" Kikuchiyo, however, knew full well how Hyogo had lost his sword, his pride, and nearly his life at Nasami's hands, and wished that the samuraiko were there so he could thank her personally for taking the assassin down a few notches.

Hyogo laughed. "Keep it up and you may just get your wish after all. The young master did make a request for your head." He pointed the cannon at Kikuchiyo's face, but the machine samurai merely growled.

"Cram it!"

"Your men are incompetent." Sobei was glaring at Hyogo, still fuming that their ambush of the samurai had not gone quite as well as he had planned. "We were told there were five samurai besides this one."

"There were," Hyogo insisted.

"Kyuzo, was it? I'm surprised Moro would employ such a traitor."

Hyogo turned angrily, clearly resenting the slurs against both his lord and his comrade. "You should watch what you say about my lord, though I'd be curious to know where you get such detailed information."

The Nobuseri laughed, well aware that Hyogo hated not being in control of a situation. "I'm sure you would."

The dark-haired samurai growled in frustration, glaring daggers at the bandit.

Kikuchiyo, however, was laughing at the obvious friction between the two. "Fight! Fight! Kick him in the gears!"

Hyogo immediately rounded on him again and hit him again with the cannon, sending him swaying back and forth. "Owwww, ow, ow… sorry," Kikuchiyo muttered.

Hyogo turned back to Sobei, his face determined. "Rest assured, Sobei-_dono_, I fully intend to correct that mistake, but I think we should stop those peasants and their samurai first."

"Agreed," Sobei replied thoughtfully.

Kikuchiyo was rapidly becoming bored and somewhat aggravating at being ignored by the other two, so he began trying to get loose. "Hey, you guys… you better finish me off now! Otherwise you're gonna regret it!" His laughter again rang through the chamber, echoing off the walls until the bandit leader cursed and approached.

"Just kill him already. He's annoying."

Hyogo, however, did not move, but instead considered the machine samurai thoughtfully. "Not yet… he may still be of use to us…"

* * *

At the mouth of the cavern, the samurai had just learned of Honoka's betrayal, and the merchants' attempted theft of the Shikimoribito's technology. While Heihachi was all in favor of executing the peasant woman for her treachery, Kambei quietly overruled him, vowing to reunite her with the sister that the Nobuseri had abducted. 

Suddenly a loud explosion shook the ground beneath them, and the samurai, peasants, and Guardians all ran to see what had happened. Below them was Kyuzo, standing in the wreckage of a bandit he had destroyed, along with several flying machines.

But no sooner did the samurai recognize him than several shots were fired, and Kyuzo dodged out of the way of Hyogo's attacks before being surrounded by several flying machines with swords drawn. Hyogo was berating the samurai for killing the bandit, as well as for pursuing his intention of dueling and killing Kambei.

"Kyuzo-_dono_," Kambei murmured.

"He did all this?" Shichiroji said in amazement. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, after watching the stoic samurai carve apart a Nobuseri piece by piece, but he was still impressed by Kyuzo's skills.

"Looks like they're not the forgiving type," Heihachi observed. Then they noticed another flying machine coming up behind Hyogo, dragging a large and familiar shape that was cursing loudly.

"Kikuchiyo-_dono_!" Heihachi exclaimed, and Kambei headed down the slope to help Kyuzo.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Gorobei called, but the others ignored him, and he followed them down into the fray. Before Hyogo realized what was happening, the samurai had taken out over half of his force.

"Damn it," Hyogo cursed, but Kikuchiyo only laughed.

"Dirty tricks like using a hostage don't work on _him_, you powder-faced freak!"

Hyogo glared at him. "Shut up!"

Kikuchiyo, however, would not be silenced, and taunted, "Didn't you know? He… no, _they_ are _samurai_! And real ones, too! Not gun-toting fancy dressed fakes like you, you follow me?" The pride in his voice for his samurai comrades aggravated Hyogo immensely, and he waved away the flying machines and gave Kyuzo an ultimatum – duel Kambei now, and either kill him and be redeemed, or die at the samurai's hands.

And while Kyuzo turned to face Kambei, Hyogo lifted the cannon and aimed it straight at the blond samurai's back.

But before he could fire, a shadow from above distracted him, and he turned in dismay to see Katsushiro, now healed, leaping down from the cliff above to slice through the rope holding Kikuchiyo. Instinctively, the dark-haired assassin yanked the cannon around and fired, but he missed the young samurai, who cut Kikuchiyo free and landed beside him.

Hyogo turned, and had barely an instant to recognize the figure charging him, swords drawn, and murder in his eyes. "KYUZO!"

His swords barely whispering as they moved, Kyuzo carved straight through the barrel of Hyogo's cannon with one blade, and through Hyogo's torso with the other.

* * *

As Kirara and the other peasants arrived with the Shikimoribito, Kambei and the samurai approached Hyogo where he lay dying. 

But Hyogo, in the end, had the last laugh. "You've… fallen for our trap, samurai," he wheezed. "Right about now… Sobei-_dono_ should be arriving at the Upper Shrine. Soon all the Nobuseri will know of your plan."

The samurai all recoiled in dismay, their last hope of catching the Nobuseri by surprise lost.

With the last of his strength, Hyogo looked at Kyuzo. "Why… Kyuzo… why did you-?"

Kyuzo looked down at him, meeting his gaze. "Because… I wanted to live."

"You're a hopeless fool…" Hyogo's voice faded away as he died.

For a long moment, peasants, samurai, and Shikimoribito stood in silence for the fallen samurai, then Kambei turned to Kyuzo. "May I ask you to come with us?"

"When do we leave?"

"Immediately." Kyuzo nodded, and the other samurai were pleased at the addition of the swordsman to their ranks.

"We will be sorry to see you go," one of the Guardians stated, and Kambei turned to face them.

"The Nobuseri know about our mission now, so I'm afraid that we have no time to spare."

Honoka stepped forward hesitantly. "Great samurai…"

Kambei gave her a reassuring look. "Don't worry about what happened. You wait here." It was also vital that the Nobuseri not realize that the peasant woman had turned against them in the hopes that the samurai would save her sister.

But Honoka was not yet finished. "My little sister and Rikichi's wife… the bandits are probably keeping them both at the Upper Shrine."

Kambei nodded. "Let's go." But no sooner did he start walking than he found Kirara standing before him, her eyes fixed on Kyuzo.

"That man is our enemy," she said firmly, but Kambei would not be dissuaded.

"Before you go, samurai…" The group turned back to the Shikimoribito, and saw that another had arrived. With him was Nasami, who looked pale but composed.

"We must apologize to you. It was necessary to keep her away from the Nobuseri until they had been dealt with."

"Why?" Kirara asked.

The Guardians turned to her as one. "The one called Hyogo has betrayed her, and has sent word to the Magistrate and the Emperor accusing her of the murder of the Imperial Envoy."

Katsushiro went white. "You can't be serious… but… she's innocent!"

"But whose word will they believe, Katsushiro?" Kambei said wearily. "The word of six ronin and a handful of peasants, or one of the Magistrate's bodyguards?"

"But Hyogo's dead, what kind of threat can he possibly be now?" Kikuchiyo asked.

Nasami looked at Kyuzo. "His death makes me appear even more guilty, as it could be construed that I killed him as revenge."

The Shikimoribito nodded. "We must warn you all – no one can know that she is in Kanna."

_To be continued_…


	15. The First Step into Death

_Note: After an interesting discussion on another author's forums about Mary Sues, I realized that I desperately did NOT want Nasami to fall into that category. Hence this chapter, which I think underlines really well the nature of a relationship, and not just in the romantic sense._

_The title of the chapter comes from a quote that goes, "The first step into death is the hardest." Given what they face in Kanna, not to mention the ramifications of Hyogo's accusation, Nasami's future is very bleak indeed. It is also a foreshadowing of what Katsushiro will get himself into once he and the others reach Kanna... but that's another story._

_Also, for all of you Nasami fans, check out my latest story, THE WORTH OF ONE CRANE. (It can be found in the Video Games - Legend of the Five Rings section.) Also new poll on my forum The Sword of the Soul Conversations via Forum! "Nasami and Kambei... yes or no?" Argue away!_

_The music for this chapter is "Ghost City," from the anime GHOST IN THE SHELL. As always, please review! I can't improve things otherwise!_

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Fifteen_

Nasami stood near the cavern entrance, staring up the stars with a melancholy look in her eyes.

"_Tomorrow, we must leave at dawn," Kambei had said soberly. "The Nobuseri know too much, and we cannot afford to lose any more time. It is vital that we reach Kanna Village as quickly as possible." He looked at Katsushiro. "By tomorrow, that injury of yours will be able to handle the walk, and we will need to be rested and ready to go."_

"_We could leave now," Gorobei had replied, but Kambei shook his head._

"_No, we should plan first, or else we'll be caught before we ever reach Kanna."_

"_Especially since now they have a real reason to be looking for us," Katsushiro had muttered, trying and failing to keep from shooting an accusing look at Kyuzo._

Nearby, she could hear the faint sounds of the others as they slept, and the soft sighs of the wind. Exhausted after their earlier battles with the Nobuseri, the samurai were sleeping deeply. Most of them, anyway... she knew that at least one of them was currently on watch after the ambush earlier by the bandits. She also had the feeling that they no longer trusted Honoka after her betrayal of them, even if Kambei had won her support by promising to reunite the peasant woman with her abducted sister.

"_It's not his fault," she had protested, gesturing at Kyuzo. "Hyogo would have shot him in the back, and would never have let us leave the Shikimoribito's lair alive."_

"_But you are already wanted for the murder of the Envoy, and Hyogo's death will not help matters in the least," Kambei said softly. "If you run now, you will appear even more guilty."_

_Nasami growled. "I should have killed him when I had the chance."_

"_No." Kyuzo's reply was soft, but firm. "You could not have killed him."_

_She turned to him angrily. "He was on his knees, with a broken arm, a shattered sword, and no pride."_

"_That is why you could not kill him."_

Nasami shivered in the clothes she had borrowed from the other samurai. Used to traveling with male samurai across the Empire, she had occasionally dressed as a man to gain access to unfriendly places. Kambei and the others had deemed it too dangerous for her to continue to wear the armor that she was so often seen in, and she had reluctantly agreed to remove it. However, it felt distinctly uncomfortable not to have her body encased in the familiar steel and silk that she had worn for so long.

_Kambei had turned his eyes to Honoka. "Lady Honoka, I need your word that you will not turn Nasami over to the Nobuseri. You heard what the Guardians said - no one can know she is going to Kanna."_

_Honoka nodded. "You have my word."_

_Heihachi looked sulky where he sat sharpening his sword. "How can you be so sure that we can trust her?"_

_Gorobei gently put a hand on Honoka's shoulder. "She knows what she stands to lose if she does tell the Nobuseri or the Magistrate's men. And sometimes you just have to take things on faith."_

Nasami turned her head to look at each of them, and then as silently as a ghost, she turned and made her faltering way out of the cavern. As she left, however, dark eyes watched her progress, and a figure slowly began to follow.

* * *

She had been walking for less than an hour when a voice came from behind her. "Where are you going?" 

The voice was soft, but firm, and Nasami stopped walking.

"I'm going to Kanna Village," she replied without turning around. She kept her hands at her sides, however, rather than reaching for her sword, knowing full well that she could still most likely react faster than any assailant could imagine.

A slender figure stepped out from behind a tree, hidden within the dark shadows of the night. "Why leave now?"

"I travel alone."

"What good will that do?" The figure slowly approached until it was standing almost directly behind the samuraiko.

"I won't endanger the others," she said softly. "Not even you, Kyuzo-_sama_."

She turned around at last to look at the fair-haired samurai who had followed her. "Why did you follow me?"

"You shouldn't go alone."

Nasami shook her head. "It's too late for that, Kyuzo-_sama_, and we both know it. With Hyogo dead, my guilt is almost certain in their minds."

"It wasn't your fault," Kyuzo reminded her. "He threatened to kill you."

She turned her back on Kyuzo, clenching her small fists, and began walking again, Kyuzo following her. Together they walked in silence until they reached a small rocky outcropping. And beneath it was a recently dug grave.

From within the folds of her clothes, Nasami drew forth the broken pieces of Hyogo's katana. Then with a long, ragged sigh, she knelt and drove them into the mound of dirt over the grave so that they stood up like grave markers, the blade and the pommel crossing each other. "I hated them both. If there ever was divine justice in this world, I pray that their souls never find peace, not in any life."

Nasami drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself, but her hand went instinctively to the scar over her stomach - the mark left behind from Yashiko's treacherous assassination attempt. Her fingers curled into her skin, remembering the burning chill and agonizing pain from the poison that had nearly stolen her life.

_"You tried to abduct an innocent woman, attacked my friends, and almost killed me. Your sister caused my brother's death, tried to assassinate me, murdered three honorable samuraiko, and nearly killed the Magistrate I was serving at the time... I should kill you right now. A single thrust, and you would be dead at my feet."_

Then suddenly she glanced back at him, startled out of her thoughts, and Kyuzo met her gaze directly.

_Kyuzo stared into Nasami's eyes, and she gazed back at him unflinchingly. "She is Sasuraitsuru. You can't kill her."_

"You knew," she breathed as realization dawned. "You knew who I was, and you knew why Hyogo wanted me dead."

Kyuzo nodded.

"Did Hyogo tell you?"

"No." His eyes dropped to her waist, where her katana rested in her obi. "Only one samurai wields _Mamorimasu_."

"Is that why you let me go?" she asked. "Because of who I am?"

He shrugged. "No."

"Then... why?"

"It's _what_ you are," he said quietly. "One of the only honorable samurai left in the world." Kyuzo reached out and took Nasami's hand, forcing her fingers open to reveal the scar on her palm, and she gasped at the unexpected heat of his skin. "You risk your life and your honor for those in need. I could not let you die like that."

She tried to snatch her hand away, but he held onto it. "And yet you intend to kill Kambei-_san_ when this is over. How is that any more honorable than killing me?"

Kyuzo smiled a cold smile that sent chills down Nasami's spine. "I reserve the chance to finish my duel with Kambei-_sama_."

"But if you win, you will kill him." Her voice was flat.

The fair-haired samurai nodded.

She went totally still, and stopped trying to pull away from him. The samuraiko knew perfectly well that of the two samurai, Kyuzo was the more skilled duelist. With that and the advantage of being younger than Kambei, the outcome of their fight was virtually certain. Then slowly, as though exhausted, she bowed her head.

"I understand," Nasami said at last, sadness in her voice. "I cannot stop you." She looked over at the grave. "After all, look what happened last time someone tried to interfere."

She gently withdrew her hand from his, turned and began walking away again. But before she turned away, Kyuzo was startled at the pain he saw in her eyes. "So it's true..."

She looked back at him. "What is?"

"You have feelings for Kambei-_sama_."

Nasami did not answer, and Kyuzo knew her answer from her silence.

"Do you love him?"

She stopped. "It doesn't matter anymore, Kyuzo-_sama_."

It was the first time he had ever seen her look so... defeated.

"Would you spare his life, out of respect for another samurai?" She only barely managed to keep her voice from shaking.

"I will fight him _because_ he is samurai," Kyuzo stated, but Nasami shook her head.

"Not out of respect for him... but for me."

And Kyuzo understood what she meant.

"No."

"I see." She started walking again.

"Nasami-_dono_..."

She looked back at Kyuzo standing in the road.

"I am sorry..."

Nasami nodded. "As am I," she said, her voice barely a whisper, and began walking away once again. Kyuzo stood on the road and watched until even the glimmer of her white hair disappeared into the darkness, then he turned and faded back into the shadows, heading toward the Shikimoribito's caverns.

* * *

When the others awoke the following morning, they were shocked to see Nasami gone. 

"Why the hell would she turn tail like that?" Kikuchiyo was stunned. "I thought for sure that she would still be coming to Kanna with us!"

Before anyone could respond, Kyuzo had his sword out and was pointing it straight at Kikuchiyo, his pale face grim.

"Take it back."

The big machine samurai fell back a stop. "Hey, what are you-?"

Kyuzo advanced on him slowly. "I said... take it back." He forced Kikuchiyo all the way back to the wall of the cavern.

"Nasami-_dono_ did _not_ run. She is going to Kanna alone."

"What!" Katsushiro blurted out. "But how do you know?"

"We spoke last night. She left to protect us." Kyuzo's voice was calm, but he never took his eyes off Kikuchiyo.

"And you didn't try to stop her?" The young samurai was outraged at the thought of Kyuzo letting Nasami make the potentially dangerous journey to Kanna Village by herself.

"Would it really have done any good?" Kambei said with a sigh. "We all know how headstrong Nasami-_san_ is, and she is more than capable of taking care of herself."

"It does make sense, in a way," Gorobei admitted. "We've already got a large group, and another person might make things more of a problem. Not to mention that she is, well..."

"Well trained in more subtle methods?" Shichiroji finished with a smile.

"Something like that," Gorobei agreed.

"I certainly hope so," Heihaci said somberly. "If what the Shikimoribito said was true, and Nasami's been accused of murder, the Magistrate's men and the Nobuseri are going to be combing the countryside for her. Samurai usually don't just blend in, and Nasami-_dono_ more than most."

"That also could be a blessing in disguise," Kambei pointed out. "If they are all busy looking for her, our odds of reaching Kanna Village undetected are improved somewhat."

"I still can't believe you're agreeing with Kyuzo-_dono_ letting her go," Katsushiro said stubbornly. "She nearly got caught the last time we split up."

"I _did_ let her escape," Kyuzo stated.

"_After_ you wounded her," Katsushiro shot back.

"That's enough," Kambei said loudly. "This arguing gets us nowhere, and like it or not, Nasami has gone on without us. We know where she is headed, at least, and we can catch up with her at Kanna Village."

"So what happens now?" Kirara asked from where she had been packing up their few belongings in preparation of the trip.

"Now we leave as well. And we pray that Katsushiro is wrong about Nasami's luck running out."

"Well, I for one feel sorry for any idiot crazy enough to take on Nasami-_dono_," Kikuchiyo said cheerfully. "Don't worry, Katsu, she'll be okay. Besides, if she's anything like Kyuzo here, we can just follow the destruction."

The samurai and the farmers took a few minutes to handle last-minute concerns, and as the sun fully appeared over the horizon, they set out across the desert toward Kanna Village. But as they walked, Kambei was deep in thought on how to get the entire group to Kanna safely. Between the Magistrate's patrols and the Nobuseri, too many people now knew about the group as a whole. There was also the problem of too many people fighting in the same place, as it would increase the chances of one of the farmers being hurt in the process.

"We'll need to split up," he said aloud, and everyone stopped to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Rikichi asked, Komachi skipping along behind him.

"We can't go to Kanna in a group this large, we'll be caught before we ever cross the desert. We should proceed in groups no larger than three people."

Kambei and the others started walking again as Gorobei considered the idea. "A three-way split? That's a bold move, old man," he said, mockingly echoing Shichiroji's own nickname for the white-clad samurai.

Heihachi, however, was all in favor of splitting up. "Big groups attract attention. We'll have a better shot this way."

Kambei nodded soberly. "That's my hope. The Nobuseri know too much about us now. We must play against their expectation however we can. Now we'll need a rally point near the village. Any suggestions?"

Kirara was walking with her head down, dowsing with her crystal to find the best route back to Kanna, and she glanced up at Kambei's question. "There's Wing Rock on the way to the bridge."

"Wing Rock?" Katsushiro said in surprise, and Kirara nodded, picturing the enormous rock in her mind.

"It's an old boulder that's been weathered down into the shape of a wing. It's impossible to miss."

Komachi came scrambling up over a small hill behind Shichiroji. "When me and my friends go play, that's our secret base!"

Kambei quietly chuckled. "Well, that settles it then."

Shichiroji turned and looked at the rest of the group. "So, how should we split up?"

"One farmer per group," Kambei said, also assessing the others. "They know the land and can guide us." Komachi, Kirara, and Rikichi all nodded – they could easily find their way back to Kanna Village from here. The ex-commander then looked at the other samurai. "Two samurai go with each. Katsushiro, you're with me," he said before Katsushiro could volunteer. Kambei glanced at Komachi, who gleefully ran ahead to catch up to Katsushiro and smiled hugely at him, especially when she saw the crestfallen look on his face at not being able to travel with Kirara.

"Great, I'll take the woodchopper," Gorobei volunteered, and he reached out to grab Rikichi by the collar before the farmer could sidle off. Kirara stifled a giggle, knowing how the entertainer loved to tease Rikichi mercilessly.

"That'll work." Shichiroji glanced over at Kyuzo, who gave a faint nod, and then back at Kambei, who turned his gaze quickly to Kirara as a hint. He bowed extravagantly to Kirara, who smiled and moved to walk beside the former pilot.

"Then it's decided," Kambei said in satisfaction. "We'll walk three paths, and converge near the village soon. Fortune be with you all."

Kikuchiyo had been waiting patiently for Kambei to include him in a group, but when he realized that he was left out, protested loudly, "Wait, you forgot me! Who do I go with?"

Kambei just kept walking. "That is not my concern."

The big machine samurai huffed indignantly and blew an enormous cloud of steam in frustration. "Oh, I see. Fine, then, I'll just go wherever I want!" And he promptly stomped off, muttering under his breath. Komachi wanted to go after him, but a firm look from Kambei kept her walking forward.

As they cleared the low mountains ringing Kogo Valley, the three groups parted ways with bows and wishes of good luck. Katsushiro watched in mild aggravation as Kirara left with Kyuzo and Shichiroji, and glared daggers at Kyuzo's back, but he resolutely did as he had been told and followed Kambei and Komachi.

"Stop worrying, Katsushiro," Kambei said, cutting across the young samurai's thoughts, and Katsushiro looked up, startled. "Kirara will be fine with Kyuzo and Shichiroji. So will Nasami, wherever she is."

"Yes, _sensei_," Katsushiro said in resignation.

Trying desperately not to think about Kirara.

_To be continued_...


	16. Following In My Footsteps

_Note: I had to do it, I really did. -laughing- I liked Ran from Motokonobaka's story KEN NO RONIN_ _so much that I wanted her to make an appearance here, albeit a brief one. And what better place to have them run into each other than on the road to Kanna? And really, their whole trip to Kanna is generally filled with weirdness anyway (cross-dressing, merciless teasing, and the like), so why not add a bit more?_

_Sorry this chapter took so long to get added, I got blocked for a week for including song lyrics by mistake in my story AND SO IT GOES (which I intend to republish without the offending lyrics as soon as I can). On the bright side, it gave me more time to write. And HOORAY HOORAH, the story broke 1000 hits! Go me! _

_Also, new poll on my forum The Sword of the Soul Conversations via Forum! "Nasami and Kambei... yes or no?" Argue away!_

_The music for this chapter is "Becoming a Geisha" from MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Sixteen _

Nasami glanced skyward and squinted at the sun, then back down at the road. At the rate she was walking, she guessed that she would be arriving at Kanna Village just before sundown. Fortunately she had managed not to encounter too many people along the way, but then again, she had been careful to pick a road that was traveled enough for her to blend in, but not so crowded that she wouldn't be able to make good time. But her limp made the long walk difficult, and she felt rather self-conscious for not wearing her usual armor. However, _Mamorimasu_ was still carefully resting in the obi at her waist.

Suddenly she whirled, yanking her katana and its saya from her obi, and parried a sudden and unexpected boken attack from behind her. With a graceful shrug, she side-stepped and brought the sheathed katana into her assailant's stomach, sending the attacker backward to land on the ground with a loud thump and a muffled curse.

In a flash, Nasami had the katana out of its saya, the blade pointed at her assailant, but then she gasped and stepped back in surprise.

Sitting on the ground ruefully rubbing her stomach was a gawky-looking teenage girl. She wore all black, right down to the sandals on her feet, with an odd basket hat on her head and her long dark hair pulled back in a foxtail. One boken was clutched in her hand, another was thrust into the sash at her waist.

"Have you no sense?" Nasami hissed, replacing the sword in its sheath, her heart pounding from the unintentional scare. "I could have killed you!"

"Not me!" the girl said cheerfully, getting to her feet. "I'm a samurai! Master of the sword! Never been beaten!"

No sooner were the words out of her mouth when with a single stroke, Nasami sent the girl's boken flying.

"Except for just now," the samuraiko said coldly, replacing her katana at her waist.

"Well, yes, that's true," the teenager said, unfazed as she dusted herself off and went to retrieve her boken. "I guess you could be better than me. But you never heard me coming, did you?"

"Samurai do not sneak," Nasami chided her. "It's dishonorable."

The girl opened her mouth to argue, but then seemed to think better of it and closed it again with an audible snap.

"I suppose you're right," she said, sticking the other boken into the sash at her waist.

Nasami eyed the girl with interest. It was true that she had been remarkably quiet when she had crept up behind the samuraiko.

"What is your name?"

"Ran," the teenager replied. "And you are?"

Nasami couldn't help grinning. It was rare that she wasn't recognized these days. "Nasami."

"Pleased to meet you, Na-… hey, wait a minute!" Ran's dark eyes flashed to the samuraiko's white hair, then to the katana she wore in her obi. "No… no, you couldn't be the same Nasami."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Nasami is supposed to be this incredible samuraiko, Sasuraitsuru, undefeated in battle, legendary swordsman and all that," Ran said, waving her arms. "She's been my inspiration since I was old enough to walk. But you're barely the same height as me, you don't even wear armor, and you walk with a lame knee. You can't be the same person."

She never even saw the samuraiko move.

Suddenly Ran was flat on her face, coughing up dirt, and Nasami was standing behind her, one of the girl's boken in her hands.

"You were saying?" the samuraiko asked, leaning on the boken.

"It's… it's not possible," Ran coughed. She got up again, slapping her hand against her clothes to get rid of the dust, and drew her other boken to round on the samuraiko. But as she looked at Nasami again, the samuraiko straightened to her full height and shoved back her sleeves, and Ran took in the scars, the tattoos on her arms, and the skill with which she wielded the boken, dawning realization appearing in her eyes.

"It's true… you really _are_ the samuraiko Nasami!"

Nasami nodded, and Ran immediately bowed, absolutely horrified. "I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't mean any disrespect!"

The samuraiko waved her hand in dismissal, and handed back the boken. "Rule number one - Never judge on appearance. You never know who you might be talking to."

"Yes, Nasami-_sama_, I'll remember," Ran said gratefully, straightening. "So where are you going?"

"I can't tell you, but speed is vital at this time. So I must be going."

"Before you go," Ran said hurriedly, "I've heard stories about your swordsmanship, and I was wondering… can you take just a moment to show me how good you are? Please?"

Nasami was about to refuse, but the plea in Ran's eyes was too strong to ignore. "Very well," she sighed, and reached into her robes for a piece of rice paper from the sheaf she carried with her for writing. "On one condition."

"Anything!"

Nasami's dark blue eyes locked onto Ran's dark ones. "Tell no one you saw me."

"But…"

"No… one. Swear on your honor as a samurai," Nasami said softly.

Ran looked miserable at not being able to tell everyone she had met the famous samuraiko, but nodded. "I promise."

Nasami held up by one corner in front of Ran, then tossed the paper into the air, drawing her katana in a swift movement in the same instant. Before the girl even drew a breath, Nasami stepped forward, swung her katana, spun the blade around, and resheathed it.

And Ran's eyes went wide as two pieces of paper, exactly the same in size as the original but now half the original's thickness, drifted to the ground.

"Whoa…"

Nasami's smile slowly faded, and she turned and began walking down the road once more.

"Just you wait, Nasami-_sama_!" Ran called cheerfully. "One day I'll be just as good as you are!"

"Miracles do happen," came the samuraiko's reply as she disappeared from sight.

* * *

"To hide a tree, put it in a forest; to hide a person, go into town," Gorobei said cheerfully as he, Heihachi, Rikichi, now dressed in rather gaudy clothes and hats, walked along the main road heading into one of the towns between Kogakyo and Kanna Village. "The main road is the most obvious route to Kanna, and the last they'd expect us to take." 

"Blend in by standing out," Heihachi agreed. "But aren't these outfits kinda pushing it?"

"I really don't feel very comfortable with this," Rikichi muttered. He walked along with his head down, trying his hardest to pretend he wasn't there, and certainly not dressed like a performer.

"Come on, man, comfort is for the stagnant," Gorobei proclaimed. "If anyone asks, just tell them, 'We are a traveling troupe of merry men, with a hearty joke and a joyful song!' And you have to say it like that," he added.

"But I can't," Rikichi protested miserably. "I'm just a farmer, rice is all I know. I don't know how to perform!"

"Of course not," the entertainer replied. "None of us do. But the point is you're not you anymore, you're the… sickle master Maguso Koedayu!"

"And I'll be the man who breaks blocks to break his bread," Heihachi said gleefully, lifting his hands before him like a martial artist about to split a board in two. "Wood-chopping master Hoho Eminosuke!"

Gorobei studied him with a smile. "You know, the name kind of suits you!" Then he and Heihachi started laughing at the idea.

Rikichi, however, saw no humor in the situation, and stopped walking in dismay. The woodcutter noticed, and stopped as well, although Gorobei kept walking, humming to himself.

"We shouldn't be laughing, this is life or death!" Rikichi said quietly, all of his fears in his voice.

Heihachi understood his concerns, but he also knew that the farmer had no idea that this was how samurai lived – each moment for itself. "We're laughing _because_ it's life or death. It's Gorobei-_dono_'s style, you should try it out."

The mechanic began walking along after Gorobei, and after a few moments of wishing the ground would just open beneath him, Rikichi followed.

If he had known what was coming later, he would have skipped wishing for the ground to open up beneath him, and gone straight to praying for lightning to strike him dead where he stood.

Heihachi soon caught up to Gorobei. "So, how do you think the others are doing?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," the entertainer said, all humor gone. "With Kambei-_dono_ in one group and Kyuzo-_dono_ in the other, I'm sure they'll be safe. Actually, I know it sounds strange, but I haven't been worrying about them at all."

Heihachi nodded. "I know… I'm worried about her, too, but I'm sure that she's fine. In all truth, she'll probably have the easiest time of it, you know?"

* * *

Kirara reached the bend of the road, and saw spread out below her the rice paddies of a village that adjoined Kanna. 

"Those are our neighbors down there," she said, breathing hard as Shichiroji and Kyuzo came up behind her. "Kanna Village is not very far beyond them."

"It's a difficult climb, Lady Kirara, and you're out of breath," Shichiroji said kindly. "Why don't we take a break here, just for a few minutes?"

The water priestess was about to agree when she sensed someone watching her, and turned to see Kyuzo staring placidly at her, the black mask covering the lower half of his face. His features completely unreadable, he just watched as she clenched her jaw and deliberately turned back to Shichiroji.

"No thanks," she said defiantly. "We can rest when we get there. My people are waiting for us, they need me."

The former pilot wasn't fooled though, and grinned widely. "And I thought your motivation was getting away from Kyuzo-_dono_ here."

Kirara sensed the silent reproach, and turned her gaze away. "I'm not going to pretend that I like him, great samurai. I honestly can't tell what he's thinking, and I don't trust men like that. He told Kambei he wanted to kill him, doesn't that bother you?"

"I don't know," Shichiroji began, when a sudden chill made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Kyuzo tensed in the same instant, and both men resolutely did not turn around.

"Scouts," Kyuzo said softly.

Kirara gasped and began to turn around, but Shichiroji's hand on her elbow and a soft whisper of "Don't" kept her facing forward.

The two samurai listened intently, senses attuned for combat. Then Shichiroji knelt down in front of Kirara and held out his hand.

"Give me your foot, like I'm your servant," he whispered urgently. When she hesitated, he glanced up at her and ordered, "Just do it!" Clearly uncomfortable, and not at all sure why he was doing this, Kirara lifted her foot and placed it in his hand.

Kyuzo, however, was well aware of the potential threat behind them in the form of the mechanical spy, and was about to draw his swords when Shichiroji shot a fast glance at him. "Want to start a fight?"

The red-clad samurai didn't bother to answer, but reached up to draw his two katanas from the sheath on his back. Kirara got there first, placing her hand on his shoulder to stop him from pulling the swords free.

"Great samurai, please don't! I'm begging you!" she pleaded. "You'd only put us at risk for a fight that could be avoided!" Kyuzo glared down at her, and she nearly stepped back, but continued. "Getting to the village should be our top priority! Let's not take lives when we don't need to!"

To her surprise, Kyuzo let go of his swords and began walking past her. As he passed Shichiroji, the pilot groaned and rubbed the back of his head in frustration, but also turned and started walking again, Kirara trailing after him.

Shichiroji caught up to Kyuzo and said softly, "Do you think they were looking for us… or for Nasami-_dono_?"

Kyuzo shrugged, and Shichiroji sighed. "Perhaps you _should_ have fought them… if they _were_ looking for Nasami, at least then we know they wouldn't find her. But I guess it's too late now."

* * *

Kikuchiyo had caught up to Kambei, Katsushiro, and Komachi earlier in the day, and now the four of them were passing over a stream that came from the runoff of a waterfall. Kikuchiyo, with Komachi sitting on his shoulder, waded stoically through the stream, while Katsushiro lightly hopped from stone to stone behind Kambei. 

"He's still thinking of sister, he's still thinking of sister," Komachi chanted in sing-song, a huge smile on her face as she thought of Katsushiro pining after her older sister.

Reaching the next stone, Katsushiro turned around in exasperation. "Would you please stop with that!"

"Oh, you can try to hide it," Komachi said confidently from where she perched on Kikuchiyo's shoulder, "but I can tell that you are totally in love with her!"

That got Kikuchiyo's attention, and Katsushiro's gasp and immediately reddened cheeks stopped the big machine samurai in his tracks.

"Oh, I think you might be right, sprout!" he crowed, laughing. "Look at him blush!"

Katsushiro turned away in a huff, even as the blush deepened. "Laugh all you want, it's not true!" he said defensively. "I took an oath, all right? I swore I'd protect her, that's all I'm thinking about! Period!"

Kikuchiyo wasn't fooled in the least, and laughed even louder. "Oh, ho, ho, look how mad he's getting! Pretty obvious now, huh?"

Komachi, however, was struck by a sudden thought. "I don't know, though… are samurai even allowed to fall in love?"

Katsushiro rounded on her. "Nobody's falling into anything! I told you, it's not like that!"

Up ahead, Kambei turned around with a smirk. "You've lost this battle," he said to Katsushiro, chuckling quietly to himself, and Katsushiro turned to him in dismay. Kambei crossed the stream, with Kikuchiyo and Komachi behind him, still laughing to themselves. Katsushiro stayed where he was for a moment, then called after Kambei, too angry and embarrassed to think about his next words, "So how is what's going on with you and Nasami-_dono_ any different?"

That brought the other three to a halt, and Kambei turned around to Katsushiro with a look on his face that the young samurai had never seen before.

Raw, nearly uncontrolled bitterness.

"The difference, were it any of your business, Katsushiro, is that unlike you, I am not hiding behind a lie."

The older samurai turned on his heel with such finality that even Komachi and Kikuchiyo fell silent, and somberly, the other three trailed along behind him, their earlier laughter forgotten.

_To be continued…_


	17. On the Road to Kanna

_Note: This chapter was great fun to write, especially the whole scene with the four K's by the water. And it's amazing how many people begged me to add the whole gender-bending stunt that Gorobei, Heihachi, and Rikichi pull to get past the patrols! And well, it was time to bring everyone together again, anyway. Next stop, Kanna Village…_

_The music for this chapter, "Kou-Ga-Kyo," is actually the first piece of music I used from SAMURAI 7! If you have recommendations for later chapter music ideas, please hit my forum and let me know! There'sa lot of great music out there, I can't know it all!_

_Side note - I just got Volume 4 of SAMURAI 7 on DVD (four days early, too, haha!), and it ROCKS! (I cried, too, while I watched it... if you've seen the series, you can guess why.) But then I saw the trailer for Volume 5, and the last two images are the most disturbing... what HAS Kambei gotten himself into?_

_I also have been doing something I normally don't do when writing - writing several chapters simultaneously (although not necessarily consecutive chapters). But I found an AWESOME piece of music that I just had to use for the chapter where the relationship between Kambei and Nasami comes to the fore... well, you'll just have to read it._

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Seventeen_

Kikuchiyo, Komachi, Kambei, and Katsushiro decided to take a short break, and were sitting near the stream relaxing in the sunshine.

Or, more truthfully, Kambei, Komachi, and Kikuchiyo were relaxing. Katsushiro was sitting a short distance away, arms folded, body tense, resolutely staring at the water, and pointedly ignoring Komachi and the big machine samurai.

From where she was sitting beside Kikuchiyo, making a small boat from a leaf, Komachi looked over at Katsushiro. "You still mad at us?" she called innocently.

"I'm not mad," Katsushiro shot back, clearly still angry at her for teasing him earlier that morning. "I'm nothing. I'm just… watching the stream."

Komachi wasn't fooled in the least. "If you're not mad, how come you're off sitting by yourself?" she asked meaningfully.

"I…" Katsushiro sighed, suddenly tired of carrying a grudge. "I'm just thinking."

Mentioning the 'T' word around Kikuchiyo was never a good idea, who was all in favor of the theory, 'Act first and think later.' Idly scratching himself with a twig, he remarked, "You're a samurai, aren't you? How about a little less thinking and a little more doing? Ladies never go for the shy guys."

Katsushiro's grudge was suddenly back in full force. "Look, we've been through this!"

Komachi, however, ignored him, and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, making her like him might be tough." She glanced over at the young samurai. "Sis did say you don't smell like battle, after all."

"Oh, yeah, you're screwed," Kikuchiyo announced, waving one foot dismissively at Katsushiro.

The young samurai got to his feet angrily, aggravated twice-over by the teasing about Kirara and his own inexperience in war. "Since you won't drop it, why don't you tell me what the smell of battle is?"

Komachi smiled innocently. "I don't know, I'm just a kid. But I bet Kiku can tell you exactly what it is, right?" she said, looking down at her hero who was sprawled on the rocks enjoying the sun.

Kikuchiyo abruptly sat up, not willing to admit in front of Komachi and Kambei that he didn't really know what the scent of the battlefield was. "Huh? Oh, uh, sure. Of course." He thought frantically, then announced, "Uh, blood, grease, swords, you know, some body odor, macho stuff!"

From where he sat, Kambei overheard the machine samurai's description and quietly chuckled to himself as he sipped some sake.

Kikuchiyo hurriedly went on before Komachi could ask any questions. "But anyway, that's not what you should be worrying about, kid."

"No?" Katsushiro said archly.

Kikuchiyo leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Just think who she's with right now."

That reminder did nothing to help Katsushiro's temper.

The machine samurai went on rubbing salt in the wound. "There's 'Master Two Swords' with the whole mysterious tough-man loner thing girls go crazy for, and then there's Momotaro, who we already _know_ is a romancer. Competition!"

Komachi flashed another winning smile. "And Sister isn't getting any younger!" she teased.

Katsushiro turned away in a huff. "That's ridiculous."

Kikuchiyo flopped back down, confident in his assessment of the water priestess and her current companions. "Sure, say that now. By the time we reach the village, it'll probably be too late."

"Can we just drop it?" Katsushiro shouted so suddenly that Komachi fell over.

Kambei finally decided to draw the young samurai's attention away from the touchy subject of Kirara and the other samurai. "Katsushiro, tell me. Why did you want to become a samurai?"

Katsushiro gaped, clearly not expecting that question, and especially not from Kambei. Komachi and Kikuchiyo both sat up, looking from Kambei to Katsushiro, waiting for the young man's answer. Katsushiro opened his mouth to reply, then looked confused, and closed it again.

"Well… why did you become a samurai, Kambei?" Komachi asked after a long awkward pause.

Kambei smirked. "Perhaps because I have a penchant for 'blood, grease, swords, and body odor.'"

"All right, all right," Kikuchiyo grunted, giving Kambei an obscene gesture for his barb about his earlier comment. "Not all samurai are like that. I can't see someone like Nasami doing the whole body odor and grease thing, especially not with that white hair of hers." Then he paused, thinking of the samuraiko. "But I'd say she's got the blood and swords side of being a samurai down cold."

"That's rude, Kiku," Komachi scolded, poking him in the ribs.

"But it's true," Katsushiro said thoughtfully. "After the way she cut down those assassins… it's like death means nothing to her."

"Actually, if she were here, I think she would remind you that 'life is only for the one who is not afraid to die,'" Kambei replied, slowly stroking the long locks of hair he'd taken from the samuraiko.

* * *

"Decisions, decisions, which way to go?" Shichiroji wondered aloud, as Kirara stood a short ways ahead of him, dowsing with her crystal to determine which path to take. 

"The underground channel flows beneath both of these paths," she said finally. "Either way should lead us directly to Kanna Village."

But before she had finished speaking, Kyuzo gave her a look, and then began walking down the right-hand path. Kirara turned to him, affronted, and called out, "Excuse me!"

"Easy now," Shichiroji said placatingly, "let's just go where he wants."

Kirara, accustomed to being the one making the decisions, was not at all happy with that notion. "He chooses for us in silence, and expects us to follow?" She stayed where she was, glaring after Kyuzo. "Any hope I had of understanding this man is quickly fading."

If he heard her, Kyuzo gave no indication of it, and simply kept walking.

The water priestess turned angrily to Shichiroji. "Let me say it again, I am strongly against him coming to my village."

Shichiroji sighed, knowing that Kirara's pride and not her intuition was the reason for her bias against the other samurai. He glanced after Kyuzo, and smiled ruefully. "A samurai should be judged by his actions, water priestess, not by his words," he chided her gently.

"Well sometimes words are needed," Kirara said defensively. "You can't convey everything with a stare!"

An instant later, Kyuzo flattened himself against the cliff face, staring directly ahead of them.

"They're back."

The ground ahead of them exploded in a shower of flying rocks and dust, and a Tobito combat machine came spinning at them. Before Kirara could even gasp, Kyuzo had his swords out, lunged at the machine, and promptly sliced it in half.

But even he was caught by surprise when the two halves each sprouted a head, arms, legs, and a wicked looking sword. They soared and landed, one on either side of him. Growling, Kyuzo lifted his swords in a defensive posture, glancing from one to the other, almost daring them to attack.

Shichiroji gestured to Kirara. "No offense, but you'd better sit this one out. Behind those rocks would be nice." Kirara gave him no argument and dashed for the cover of the boulders, and the former pilot lifted his staff and charged into the fray.

The two halves of the Tobito powered up the lasers of their eyes and started shooting at Kyuzo, who easily dodged their attacks as he charged one of them. Both his swords flashed faster than the eye could follow as he bore down on his opponent. The other raced at him from behind, but as Kyuzo glanced behind him, Shichiroji's spear neatly caught it in the head, severing it in a shower of sparks. Shichiroji swung himself around on the staff, kicked the body of the Tobito several yards, and then grinned hugely at Kyuzo as he landed and charged after the remains of the second Tobito.

Kyuzo swiftly reversed his grip on one katana and brought it upwards in a vicious slash, slicing his opponent's arm off. But before he could finish him off, the Tobito drew its legs into itself and flew upwards in a cloud of dust, leaving Kyuzo on the ground staring up in frustration. Quickly it put some distance between itself and the swordsman, then landed heavily on the boulder behind which Kirara was hiding.

Her gasp caught its attention, and it turned its head to look at her even as she cowered behind the rock.

Kyuzo took full advantage of its distraction and charged, even as the Tobito turned back to face him and powered up its laser for a point-blank shot. But the samurai sliced its legs out from under it before it could attack, and it fell heavily toward the ground.

Straight toward Kirara.

As it fell, she felt time slow, saw its eye prepare to fire, and as desperately as she tried to be brave, she could barely resist the urge to scream. But in a flash, Kyuzo was there, bringing his katana up in a sudden swing that sent the head flying and the body straight to the ground.

However, as the head landed, whether by accident or malicious purpose, its face was aiming straight at Kirara, and with a loud whoosh, the beam shot straight toward the water priestess. Instinctively, Kyuzo thrust himself between her and the blast, and it seared its way painfully across his left forearm, drawing blood and sending a wave of agony through the samurai.

Seconds later, Shichiroji finished off the Tobito's other half with a quick slice and a loud explosion, and turned to see Kyuzo kneeling on the ground, using his right hand to stem the bleeding.

Kirara was staring at the samurai in distress. "You're hurt," she whispered, trying to get a look at the injury, but Kyuzo refused to look at her.

"You knew they would come back eventually. That's why you wanted to fight before." Shichiroji said flatly as he approached. He had been afraid this would happen, but neither of them could have made Kirara see that fighting earlier would have saved them the problem now. Kyuzo said nothing, sheathing his swords across his back and getting to his feet, but the former pilot knew he was right. "That was your line of reasoning, wasn't it?"

All Kyuzo did was begin walking once again. And all Kirara could do was follow.

* * *

"Take care now, ladies! Come see us again!" the acting troupe sang out as Rikichi, Gorobei, and Heihachi left the small town where they'd gone into temporary hiding after nearly getting caught by a passing patrol. But they no longer looked like two samurai and a farmer. Instead, all three were garishly dressed and made up as women – wigs, shaved legs, and all. 

While Gorobei and Heihachi calmly walked along, Rikichi pulled the cart, bemoaning his fate the entire time. "Why me? I've never been so embarrassed… why couldn't I be with the normal ones?"

The street performer grinned. "Cheer up, man, you're stunning!"

"I never knew you had such nice legs," Heihachi teased, but Rikichi only groaned and hunched even lower.

But their mirth didn't last long.

"Gorobei-_dono_, looks like trouble," Heihachi said softly, pointing, where in the distance black smoke billowed and curled toward the sky.

After a while, they arrived at a village… or rather, the smoldering remains of one. Houses were destroyed, fields lay in ashes, and not a living soul could be found anywhere. Rikichi stared in utter dismay, seeing the future of his own village before his eyes. "This is the bandits' work, I'm sure of it. Another village wiped out…"

Gorobei discreetly sniffed the air, 'scenting for danger' as he called it. "Fresh smoke," he murmured to the other two. "They're still close."

"Here we go," Heihachi said softly, and they began walking through the remains of the village, heading for Kanna.

They got less than twenty feet when two Yakan combat machines appeared out of the smoke behind them.

"Travelers! Explain your presence!" one boomed, and all three men turned. Rikichi took one look and promptly fell over, cowering. Gorobei, on the other hand, immediately clasped his hands to his chest like a lovesick maiden, pitched his voice an octave higher and cooed, "Don't pinch me girls, I don't want to wake up! It's the real Nobuseri! Wow! I can't tell how big a fan I am! Your work is absolutely divine!"

It took Heihachi a moment to figure out where Gorobei was going with the idea, but once he caught on, he boldly stepped up to one of the Yakan shells. "How brutishly handsome! The strong chest, the booming voice! Oh, I think I'm falling in love!" he fluttered, resting his hand against the shell.

The two Yakan operators groaned aloud. "Oh. They're prostitutes."

"Us?" Heihachi said indignantly. "No, we're nothing of the sort!"

"We're entertainers!" Gorobei said proudly, stepping up to the other Yakan. "The merriest troupe this side of the capital!"

He started simpering, Heihachi doing the same. Rikichi got out a single squeaky giggle before panicking and starting to crawl away.

He got about a yard before the two Yakan disengaged themselves from Gorobei and Heihachi. "You there! Crawler!"

Rikichi froze.

"Tell us your name."

"I'm M-m-m-m-m-m-makaso," he stammered.

"M-m-m-m-m-m-makaso, eh?" smirked one of the Yakan in derision. "Haven't heard _that_ one before. Seems shy for a performer."

Gorobei and Heihachi tensed as the soldier went on. "How do I know you're not fugitives in disguise?"

"Oh cut it out," Gorobei said primly. "You bandy-wandy types are too much!"

"Then I suppose you ladies wouldn't mind giving us a little taste of your act?" the other Yakan asked. The three men hesitated… just a moment too long. "No? Last chance! Perform for us now or we take your heads!"

"Shall we?" Gorobei said in an undertone to Heihachi.

"Don't see much of a choice," the woodcutter replied, and the two samurai started to reach into the folds of their dresses for the swords they'd hidden underneath.

But then a high-pitched laugh came from behind them.

"Oh, Nobuseri, you're so dreamy, you have Makaso nervous from love!" Rikichi got to his feet and turned around, a fatuous smile on his face. "Sure I'll dance for you!" He hitched up his sleeves, grabbed the hem of his dress, and struck a pose.

"Okay!" he shouted loudly, clapping his hands to establish the time, then before his courage gave out, he began to dance and sing.

"_Need to plant the rice, and harvest it by night!  
__The rice put on my skin makes it feel so nice!  
__The salt on my face and the sweat make it smooth!  
__And bending down in the fields makes my bottom strong, too!_"

He turned and shook his backside in a desperate attempt at a seductive dance, continuing to sing.

"_Everywhere you look, my skin is silky soft!  
__Peek under my dress, here, let me take it off!_"

The two Yakan raised their hands in surrender and backed away, while Gorobei and Heihachi stared in absolute disbelief, the mechanic quietly chuckling to himself.

Rikichi was still giggling nervously, and finally one of the Yakan spoke. "That's… quite enough… um… really. Just… put your dress back down, please?" They turned and left, groaning in disgust.

The peasant's legs finally gave out, and he collapsed in a shaking heap. Gorobei and Heihachi approached and crouched down beside him.

"We owe you one," Gorobei said proudly. "Thanks to your bravery, we avoided a fight."

The shock of what he had just done and their nearly fatal experience hit Rikichi all at once, and tears welled up in his eyes. "But… I mean… we could have…"

"Easy, man, you don't want your makeup to run," Gorobei teased him, and suddenly Rikichi was crying and laughing all at once. A moment later, Gorobei and Heihachi joined in.

When the laughter finally died down, Gorobei got to his feet. "Well, should we get moving?"

"Yeah, we'd better hurry if we're going to catch up to the others," Heihachi agreed, pulling Rikichi up to his feet. "And I don't know about you guys, but I have got to get out of this dress."

"I wonder if this is how Nasami-_dono_ feels, but in reverse," the peasant mused.

Gorobei looked at him as Rikichi began pulling the cart once more. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she often dresses as a man, doesn't she? You'd almost forget she was a woman that way. But she looked a lot more comfortable in men's clothes than we do in women's clothes."

"That's for sure," Heihachi laughed. "When we get to Kanna, we'll ask her to wear one of these and see how it feels, that way she can tell us which is better."

* * *

Kikuchiyo, Komachi, Kambei and Katsushiro stood staring up at the enormous boulder that Kirara had described, gleaming red in the sunset's glow. 

"So this is Wing Rock," Katsushiro remarked. "I see where it gets the name."

"Yep, this is where we're supposed to meet," Komachi chimed in from her perch on Kikuchiyo's shoulder. "Isn't it pretty?"

The young samurai glanced around, but saw no sign of the other two groups, or of Nasami. "Guess the others haven't gotten here yet."

Komachi looked down at Katsushiro, and said teasingly, "What's the matter? You're still worried about Sis with those other samurai, huh?"

"For the last time, no!" he shouted, but a sudden falsetto cut across his words.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" From behind a palm frond came Gorobei. "The troupe of merry travelers have arrived!" he announced, and Heihachi and Rikichi popped up from behind him, laughing. Katsushiro and the other stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

Kikuchiyo was the first to get his wits back about him, and laughed. "Hey, you guys look pretty good!"

Komachi frowned down at the machine samurai. "No offense, Kiku, but I don't think you have very good taste."

Kambei closed his mouth and smirked. "Looks like your journey was a… strange one, but I'm glad you're safe."

"Any word on the third group yet?" Gorobei asked, dropping the high-pitched voice he'd been affecting as a woman, and Kambei shook his head.

"Bandits are in the area," Heihachi admitted, "we had a run-in with them ourselves."

"Sensei, I can go look for them. I'll be careful," Katsushiro promised, and Kambei agreed. But as the young samurai turned around, he saw Shichiroji standing in the shadow of Wing Rock. "Shichiroji-_dono_!" he blurted out. "Where are the others?"

"Well, we made it to the rock a little ahead of schedule, so, uh…" he tilted his head to indicate that they should come look. The group walked over to where he stood and peered around, and Kikuchiyo burst out laughing. "Oh, ho, ho!"

Kirara and Kyuzo were sitting back to back, with Kirara stitching up the samurai's sleeve where it had been torn in the attack. Kyuzo waited patiently for her to finish, and with a flourish, she stood. "All done!" With a bow, she presented the coat back to Kyuzo. "Thank you for saving my life, great samurai," she said respectfully.

"Thanks for the stitch," he replied, shrugging into his coat.

"I'd say our journey went well," Shichiroji said cheerfully, and he and the others turned to leave. Katsushiro, however, remained behind, sadly watching Kirara.

"Yeah, I guess so." But then Kikuchiyo grabbed him by the collar and dragged him off.

"Come on, we've got work to do!"

"Has anyone seen Nasami-_dono_?" Shichiroji asked as they prepared to finish their journey to the village.

"We haven't," Kambei replied.

"Neither have we," Rikichi answered.

"I wonder where she is," Kirara said, her voice betraying her worry. "You don't think she… she got caught?"

"Fear not, Kirara," came a voice from above her, and the entire group looked up.

Nasami was seated at the top of Wing Rock.

"Nasami-_sama_! What are you doing up there?" Komachi called.

"Oh, nothing really. Just enjoying the sunset, resting my knee… and keeping an eye on the sentry that the Nobuseri have posted to watch the pass to Kanna," the samuraiko called back, carefully finding handholds and footholds as she climbed down the rock. "After as much as he's had to drink, it's not surprising he didn't see any of you, but you might want to be a bit more careful when you try and enter Kanna itself."

"Very observant of you," Kambei said with a smile. "Any trouble along the way?"

"Well, I was attacked by this vicious samurai who tried to jump me from behind," she said cheerfully. "But that was easily dealt with." She stopped short when she saw Heihachi, Gorobei, and Rikichi dressed as women. "You three, on the other hand…"

"It's a long story, but suffice it to say that we ran into a patrol," Heihachi laughed.

"As did we," Kirara added. "But Kyuzo-_sama_ and Shichiroji-_sama_ defended us."

"Yet you managed to evade two separate Nobuseri patrols to make it here before us?" Katsushiro said in wonder.

"Kyuzo-_sama_ isn't the only stealthy one around here, you know."

"So the Nobuseri have posted a watch for us," Kambei mused. "I wonder how much they really know."

"Not enough," she replied seriously, but then she grinned. "After all, one should 'be more afraid of an army of sheep led by a wolf than an army of wolves led by a sheep.'"

"So the peasants of Kanna are sheep?" Rikichi said to Nasami in disbelief while they moved into the woods to avoid being seen as they approached Kanna.

"Actually, in that outfit, I don't know _what_ to call you, Rikichi…"

_To be continued_…


	18. Unfriendly Welcome

Note: This was a rough one... on the one hand, I can sympathize with Kanna's peasants who are caught between a rock and a hard place. But on a personal level, I despise those who bury their heads in the sand and hope that problems will go away on their own. When Kikuchiyo later goes on his rant (which will be in a later chapter), I was rooting for him all the way.

One of Nasami's great and consistent traits is doing what must be done, regardless of personal safety. She started out as a yojimbo (bodyguard) to a samurai from another clan, and in time, became the embodiment of sacrifice in the name of her duty. She has never backed down, never given in, never surrendered.

As eerie and sad as the music is for this chapter, it seemed so appropriate for Nasami's vision that I had to include it. That unrelenting feeling of inevitability as the characters move toward their destiny was so appropriate, it sent shivers down my spine. The music for Chapter Eighteen is "The Whipping" by James Horner from the film GLORY.

Note for all the music hunting fans: all of the music for THE SWORD OF THE SOUL is now available on the Multimedia page of my website as a Windows Media Player playlist file. Everything from Nasami's theme all the way through Chapter Eighteen is now accessible. Enjoy!

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Eighteen_

Kambei, Nasami, Kirara, and the others crouched in the woods on the far side of the bridge leading to Kanna, carefully studying the opposite side.

"So the real trick now is getting into Kanna without getting caught," Heihachi mused. "Not easy with a guard posted."

"He's not the problem," Nasami replied. "He's drunk or slacking off. The real problem is what unpleasant surprises we might be facing on the other side of the bridge."

"So what do you suggest?" Shichiroji asked.

"We'll need to enter Kanna separately," Kambei answered. "We can't all go strolling in together."

Just then a farmer came across the bridge pulling a heavy cart behind him.

"Now, there's a thought," Gorobei said with amusement. "Rikichi, what do you think he's got in that cart?"

"Well, it's hard to say, great samurai," Rikichi said, peering closer, "but I think it's manure for fertilizing the fields."

The samurai all turned to look at him, various expressions of disgust and resignation on their faces.

"On the bright side," Nasami murmured, laughter in her voice, "there's not nearly enough room for all of us, and that doesn't include Kirara and Komachi."

"Komachi, Shichiroji, Kirara, Katsushiro, and myself will cross the bridge in the cart," Kambei said finally. "Gorobei, you will remain here with Heihachi and Kyuzo to make sure that the guard doesn't raise the alarm."

"What about me?" Kikuchiyo asked.

"You'll stay here," Kambei replied firmly. "You'd attract way too much attention crossing the bridge, and you're too big to fit in the cart."

"Ass," Kikuchiyo rumbled under his breath.

Kambei ignored him. "Nasami, of all of us, you cannot be spotted entering Kanna. That's all the Nobuseri would need to destroy Kanna completely. At the very least, you'll need to wait until nightfall to enter the village. Rikichi, you'll need to come back and bring Nasami in so that the guard doesn't notice her."

The samuraiko looked thoughtful. "I might have a better idea. Let me see that map you have of Kanna."

Kambei rummaged through his things and produced it, and she leaned against a tree and peered at it closely.

"It shouldn't be too difficult for me to enter Kanna without getting caught."

"How do you plan to do that?" Katsushiro asked, and she pointed to one spot on the map.

"That's a waterfall, Nasami-_dono_," Heihachi reminded her.

"I'm aware of that," she said softly. "But considering the only people who come and go from Kanna are peasants, why would the Nobuseri bother watching it? Especially at night?"

She looked over at Rikichi and Kirara. "What's near that waterfall? Houses? Paddies?"

"Just one of the paths around the rice paddies, great samurai," Kirara replied, tracing the route with her finger. "It follows the edge of the cliffs all the way around the village."

Kyuzo said nothing, but his eyes went to her legs. It was no secret among the samurai that Nasami's ability to walk was limited due to previous injuries to both knees. Climbing a waterfall was difficult to begin with. Doing it at night would be nearly impossible. And if she were to fall...

Nasami felt Kyuzo looking at her, and followed his gaze down to her knees. "Don't worry about me, Kyuzo-_sama_," she said quietly. "I'll be fine."

"Very well, then," Kambei said at last. "Rikichi, are carts kept on this side of the bridge as well?"

"Yes, great samurai."

"Good, then it's time for us to move. Heihachi, Gorobei, and Kyuzo will wait at least an hour before crossing after us. We will meet at Kanna Village itself at sundown."

"We're going to smell awful," Komachi wailed as she trailed after Kirara and the others.

"Poor Komachi," Nasami chuckled as the group left.

* * *

Gorobei was peering through his binoculars at the Nobuseri guard watching the pass. "Slacking off... what a surprise." 

Carefully he moved back over to where Kyuzo and Heihachi were sitting, watching the progress of Rikichi and the others in the cart. "Have they left?"

"Yeah, just now," Heihachi replied, looking apprehensive. "So um, do we really need to get into that nasty thing?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Gorobei answered. "Kambei-dono just said to wait an hour and then come in after them, he said nothing about riding in the cart."

"Good point," Heihachi said cheerfully, stretching his legs and yawning.

Gorobei continued to survey the area through his binoculars, and then groaned aloud. "That big idiot."

"What?" Heihachi asked, not opening his eyes.

"Kikuchiyo is climbing the side of the mesa," Gorobei said in resignation.

Suddenly Heihachi sat back up and looked around. "Wait a minute. Where did Nasami-_dono _go?"

* * *

Nasami stood at the bottom of the waterfall, staring upward into the slowly darkening sky. It would be a difficult climb, she admitted ruefully, a lot more difficult than she'd first thought. 

"However, if I can rock-chimney down a snowy crevasse, I can handle this," she said aloud.

"_Nasami_..."

The samuraiko whirled around, her hand going for her sword, when her mouth opened in a silent cry, her eyes enormous in her face. Slowly she began to back away, shaking her head even as she stared.

Standing beside the waterfall, as insubstantial as the mist surrounding her, was the figure of a samurai.

He was slender, not much taller than she, with aristocratic and handsome features, long white hair in a samurai's topknot, and dark blue eyes. He wore an elegant kimono, and a well-wrought katana at his waist.

And the samurai so closely resembled Nasami that he might have been the woman in male form.

She tried to speak but could not.

"_Yes, it is I, Nasami_-chan." The voice was soft and cultured, with a hint of steel.

"Y... Yoshio?" she finally managed to whisper, and the figure nodded. "But... this cannot be. My brother is dead these past six years."

From the obi around his waist, the ghost drew a shimmering katana. "_Tell me this, sister... who else would be wielding the ghostly memory of _Sememasu?"

As the truth slowly sank in, tears of joy appeared in her eyes. "My beloved brother... I did not realize how much I missed you." She stepped forward and reached out for his hands, as he did for hers, and although they could not grasp the fingers of the other, for a short while, they could remember the warm touch of the other's hands.

"_And I you, Nasami_-chan," he said softly, affection in his eyes as he took in the sister he had not seen since the battle that had ended his life.

"But... how? And why?"

"_You are in grave danger, my sister. More so now than ever before in your life_."

"What do you mean?"

The ghost pointed to the top of the waterfall. "_Up there are those who would betray you. Those who care nothing for honor, but seek only to protect themselves_."

"You mean... the peasants?"

"_Yes... The Nobuseri know that samurai will come. But when the peasants realize that you are here as well, they will hand you over without a second thought_."

"I will not let their fear deter me from following the path of honor, Yoshio," Nasami replied, straightening her shoulders, and rested her hand on _Mamorimasu_.

"_That is not all, Nasami. I have been watching you for years. I know what happened that day in Winter Court between you and Kuroshin-_san_, and saw the tears you did not weep_."

She bowed her head, and wished that she could blame the falling water for the dampness on her cheeks.

"_Even more so than your life, your heart is at risk." _

Nasami abruptly lifted her gaze to his, and the shade of her older brother nodded.

Then his eyes dropped to her katana, and he reached out a ghostly hand to gently brush his fingers against the tsuba, where Kambei's hair was entwined in the guard. Her eyes followed his and she looked away.

"_He must be something special_," Yoshio murmured, "_if my little sister thinks so highly of a ronin outcast_." Then he raised his eyes to hers. "_You are in love with Shimada Kambei, aren't you_?"

She could not make herself speak, but she nodded once.

The ghost sighed. "_Does he know_?"

Nasami shook her head.

"_And your feelings for Mirumoto Kuroshin_?"

"He..." The samuraiko swallowed hard. "He will always be dear to me, but I cannot remaining in mourning forever. I must once again follow my heart."

"But I fear that this time, the cost will be higher than even you can pay, my sister."

"How?" she said softly. "How can it be greater than the cost from before? I felt as though my soul had been rent in two, my heart in shattered fragments."

"_But you still had your honor, and you still had your life. You risk both now, my beloved sister, as you never have before_."

Nasami shook her head. "I will not turn back, Yoshio. Not from my own heart, not even from my own death." She drew _Mamorimasu _and held it up, and the katana seemed to glow in the moonlight.

"_Mamorimasu...  
I die so others might live...  
No life is too small_," she whispered.

Then she resheathed the blade, bowed to her brother, and began the long climb up the slippery and treacherous rocks along the waterfall.

"_An admirable death haiku, my sister_," the ghost mused as she climbed. "_But from you, I would expect no less_."

* * *

After dark, the samurai were settling themselves in Rikichi's small house. While they were hardly expecting to be welcomed with open arms, arriving to find the farmers hiding at the Elder's house, the women and food secreted away in the secret storehouses, and their every moves watched was a disconcerting experience to say the least. 

"Not the most auspicious of welcomes," Heihachi said with a sigh, stretching out on the floor.

"You expected differently?" Kyuzo said dryly, leaning against the wall and staring moodily at the fire.

"They're frightened, and so they should be," Gorobei said, his voice low. "The Nobuseri can be formidable opponents to armed samurai... imagine how the farmers feel."

"Even so," Shichiroji replied, "this is going to make our job a lot tougher. A group of villagers willing to fight and do what it takes is one thing... but these villagers aren't what Nasami-_dono_ would call 'an army of sheep.'"

"Are you calling farmers cowards, Momotaro?" Kikuchiyo said, preparing to draw his sword, but a glare from Kambei kept the weapon sheathed.

"Why do you keep calling me Momotaro?" Shichiroji said in exasperation.

"That's enough, all of you." Kambei's voice cut through the discussion, and Kikuchiyo rolled over onto his side to sulk for a while.

Katsushiro looked up.

"Speaking of which, has anyone seen Nasami-_dono_?"

The other samurai shook their heads. "Don't worry, Katsu, I'm sure she's fine," Kikuchiyo said cheerfully. "Nothing stops that woman."

"Well, this one might have been a bit much for her," Shichiroji said uncertainly. "I mean, can you imagine scaling a waterfall in the dark with two bad knees? It's like she's got a death wish."

Katsushiro got up to pace just as Kirara came in carrying a plate with rice balls. "Great samurai, I've brought your dinner... what's wrong, Katsushiro?"

"Nasami's not here yet," he said, continuing to pace.

"Do you think someone should go and keep watch?" Heihachi suggested. "Just to be safe."

"I can go, great samurai," Rikichi volunteered.

"You wouldn't be much help if she got into trouble," Kambei said kindly. "I'll go in case she needs assistance. Shichiroji, Kyuzo-_dono_, please patrol the woods just in case she needed to come through a different way."

The two samurai nodded and left.

"Gorobei, you'll keep an eye on things here?"

"Sure thing," the street performer grinned. "You just go and find Nasami." His smile faded. "Hopefully not at the bottom of the waterfall."

Kambei turned to Kirara. "About how far is the waterfall from here?"

She walked to the door and pointed off into the distance. "From here, about twenty minutes, twenty-five if walking slow. The path leads behind that small group of houses there, along the edge of the cliffs."

"Right. I'll be back soon." Kambei strode outside, his face somber.

"Do you think she's all right?" Heihachi asked after a few minutes. "After all, if the farmers weren't too happy with us, what would they have done with a lone samurai woman?"

The samurai looked at one another, and then out into the night, concern on all of their faces for the samuraiko.

* * *

Kambei followed the path that Kirara had described until he reached the waterfall. In the moonlight, the water glowed silver, its roar drowning out the other sounds of the night. 

"Nasami-_san_!" he called as loudly as he dared.

There was no answer.

He carefully made his way down the path toward the rock that projected out over the falls, and started at the sight of Nasami standing on the rock that projected out over the waterfall, her long white hair blowing in the breeze from the falls. Her arms were wrapped around herself, and for a moment, he would have sworn that there was another samurai standing beside her, his arm around her shoulders. But then he blinked, and the other figure was gone.

"Nasami-san?" he called again, and this time she turned. At first, she seemed not to recognize him, but then she cautiously stepped from the rock up onto the path to stand before him.

"We've been waiting for hours," he chided softly, but he stopped at the expression on her face.

He wasn't certain if it was a trick of the moonlight, but he thought he had seen an incomparable sadness in her eyes, but then it was gone.

"Where is Kyuzo-_sama_?" she asked quietly.

"With Shichiroji, looking for you."

"When we find him, assign him to guard duty, patrolling the woods and watching the farmers."

"Why, is something wrong?" he asked as she moved past him, heading up the path.

"The villagers are contemplating betraying us," she said, her voice flat, not looking back as she walked. "The Nobuseri know we are coming, and they think our lives will buy the bandits' mercy. I will not let that happen, if I can help it, but I cannot do it alone. I will need Kyuzo-_sama_'s help."

Kambei stopped in the middle of the path. "But how do you know this?"

She stopped as well, but did not turn around. "My brother told me."

Then she began walking again, leaving Kambei looking shaken and confused behind her.

* * *

Without stopping, Nasami made her way into the village of Kanna. Several of the peasants were sitting outside, warily talking and keeping an eye on Rikichi's house where the samurai were staying. As it turned out, Kyuzo and Shichiroji arrived back at the same time as Kambei and Nasami. 

"Sorry, Kambei-_sama_, no sign of... wait, is that-"

Kambei quickly held up his hand for silence, and Shichiroji nodded, having momentarily forgotten the Shikimoribito's warning.

He turned to Nasami, who wore the hood of her robes up over her hair, hiding the white tresses. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "Thank you for your concern, Shichiroji-_san_." She also nodded to Kyuzo, who nodded back - his version of a bow.

"You mean, there's another samurai here?" Manzo moaned. "This is all we need."

Just then, the other samurai, as well as Rikichi, Komachi, and Kirara appeared.

"Glad to see you're safe," Katsushiro said in relief after seeing Shichiroji's cautious tilting of his head toward the samuraiko.

"Yeah, you had all of us really worried!" Komachi said brightly, running forward and throwing her arms around Nasami's legs.

The samuraiko smiled, although none could see it, and rested her hand on Komachi's head. "I'm sorry to make you worry, Komachi-_chan_."

The Elder appeared and came to stand in front of Nasami. For a long time, he peered at her hidden face. Then he turned to the other samurai, then to Kirara, Rikichi, and Komachi. "And who is this that you bring to Kanna hidden and cloaked?"

None of them replied, knowing that Nasami's identity had to remain a secret.

But the samuraiko had other plans.

"They did not bring me, Elder."

She reached up and drew the hood back from her head, so that the moon shone fully on her hair and her face.

"Nasami-_dono_, don't!" Rikichi exclaimed, but it was too late.

"I cannot hide any longer, Rikichi. If we are to help, we must have trust on both sides. The peasants already know that we are just as capable of destroying them as the Nobuseri are. Perhaps what is needed is proof that they can kill me just as easily."

The samurai could only stare at her, astonished at the samuraiko's absolute fearlessness. Her actions would either convince the villagers once and for all of the intentions of the samurai... or it would be signing her own death warrant.

"Nasami..." The Elder stared at her in wonder, his eyes resting first on the mane of white hair, then on the scars on her face, then on the swords she wore at her waist. He then bowed, most of the villagers immediately following suit. "Truly, the prayers of Kanna have been answered if the Wandering Crane herself has come to aid our cause."

"You may in time regret that prayer, Elder," she replied.

"What do you mean?" Gozaku asked.

"Nasami-san is wanted for murder," Kambei said somberly. "Although she had already given her word to Kirara that she would join Kanna's fight, one of the Magistrate's bodyguards named her as the assassin of an Imperial Envoy. The Nobuseri, Ayamoro's patrols, and soon the Imperial Magistrates will be coming for her if her presence in Kanna were discovered."

The samuraiko's gaze rested on each of the farmers, one by one, until at last her eyes met the Elder's once again. "I have saved your water priestess' life, as well as that of her sister. I have sworn to protect Kanna with my life. And I have just placed a terrible weapon in Kanna's hands, Elder. I leave it to you to decide what you will do with it."

Manzo and his fellow farmers looked at one another, then back at Nasami.

And although none of them said a word, the expression in their cunning eyes changed.

To be continued...


	19. Preparations for Battle

_Note: It wasn't until I started writing this chapter that I started thinking about something that Sleepwalking Dreamer had told me… about how from this point out, there is precious little humor, precious little laughter. From what I've seen (as of today, March 4th, I've watched to the point where Kambei leaves on his own for the capital), she's right. The feeling I get is the slow, inexorable pull toward destiny. You know what's going to happen, and no matter how you try, there is no escaping it._

_From here on out, there is betrayal, anger, frustration, blood, sorrow, disillusionment, and death. The scent of the battlefield – 'the unholy, unburiable smell of Armageddon' - will soon cover Kanna Village and everyone in it. _

_Which, of course, meant that Chapter Nineteen's music had to be "Dawn Burial," from the film REIGN OF FIRE. The playlist on my website has been updated accordingly (it says it's through Eighteen, but the new chapter is on there, too)!_

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Nineteen_

Manzo walked quietly through the bamboo forest, heading for the north cliff, a lantern in his hand. Every now and again, he checked over his shoulder, but as far as he could tell, none of the other farmers had seen him leave, nor had the samurai. He knew that they wouldn't approve, but all he wanted was for both the Nobuseri and the samurai to go away and leave Kanna alone.

If he couldn't have that, he'd settle for just having the samurai gone.

He looked back over his shoulder one more time, thinking that he'd heard footsteps behind him, but there was nothing there.

Or so he thought, for as he turned back around, he came face to face with Kyuzo and yelped in panic.

The fair-haired samurai stood quietly and just stared at Manzo, who lowered his eyes guiltily.

"Oh, I was just… uh… going to see how the rice field was doing," the farmer stammered, and tried to walk around Kyuzo.

In a flash, Kyuzo had one of his swords out and slashed straight at Manzo, who fell back with a startled cry. The blade neatly sliced through the lantern, which fell to the ground in two parts. As Manzo landed on the ground, the still-burning wick caught the rest of the paper, until a little fire started on the path.

In the firelight, Kyuzo's eyes glittered like the sword in his hand, which he then carefully resheathed with a very deliberate motion.

"The war has already begun," the samurai said, his voice colder than ever. Never once did he take his eyes off the terrified farmer.

And all Manzo could do was stare.

"What were you doing?"

"N-nothing, great samurai!"

"Kyuzo-_sama_, is there something wrong?"

Both Kyuzo and Manzo turned to see Nasami coming from where she'd been patrolling along the north cliff. She stopped in surprise at seeing Manzo on the ground, a small fire that had apparently once been a lantern, and Kyuzo standing over the farmer.

Kyuzo nodded once, then tilted his head to indicate that she should come with him. But before he left, he turned back to Manzo, who was still sitting on the path, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Go home. Now." Manzo practically leapt to his feet and dashed along the path toward the bridge, running as though Kyuzo were chasing him all the way home.

As he ran, though, he failed to notice Shino standing off to one side behind a tree, where she had overheard everything. Shino sighed to herself – she should have known her father would have done something this stupid, but to get caught at it just made her feel even worse.

For a moment, Nasami and Kyuzo glanced her way, but Shino held herself absolutely still, and eventually Kyuzo resumed his rounds, Nasami walking with him in silence for a short while.

"You were right," Kyuzo said eventually.

"About what?" Nasami asked.

"Attempted betrayal."

"Then I take it that was Shino hiding behind the tree?" she asked.

"Yes."

The samuraiko sighed, running her fingers through her long hair and rubbing her eyes tiredly. It wasn't until now that she realized how much she had been hoping her brother had been wrong, but it seems that hope had been in vain.

"Thank you."

Kyuzo glanced at her. "For what?"

"Stopping him. I hate to think what would have happened if the Nobuseri had learned we were here before we even had a chance to do anything."

"It's not over yet," he said flatly. "He will probably try again."

"Probably," she agreed. "The more important questions, though, are when… and if anyone else will help him…"

* * *

At dawn the following day, Kambei gathered all of the samurai, along with all of the villagers, in front of the Elder's house. Most of the peasants viewed the samurai with open trepidation, others with curiosity, but some like Komachi and Okara were too exhausted to care. 

Kirara, however, stood with the samurai, clearly indicating her spiritual approval of their presence in Kanna, which reassured some of what they were about to do.

Of all the samurai, only Nasami was not present. Instead, the samuraiko was patrolling the area around the mesa at Shichiroji's request, making certain that the Nobuseri didn't pay a surprise visit, especially in light of Manzo's actions the night before. She and Kyuzo had given the other samurai a quick rundown of the events of last night, and so the samurai decided to try and reassure the farmers that they really were here to help.

Kambei looked over the peasants with an assessing eye. He could tell they were frightened. But as he already knew, fear wasn't the only way to lead.

"The preparations for our defense begin now," he announced. "We have been told the Nobuseri have forty units. Has this changed?"

The Elder nodded.

"Mmm. We've heard from the other villagers… ten more big units, and maybe sixty more footmen in Yakan combat shells."

The samurai looked at each other. Kambei's original assessment for needing seven samurai had been based on the earlier assessment of the bandits' fighting force. On the other hand, with Nasami there as well, there was still a chance.

Kambei looked thoughtful. "We should send out a scout soon for exact numbers."

Gorobei nodded.

Kambei glanced back at Heihachi. "Heihachi-_dono_, you'll be on weapons detail." The mechanic grinned and bowed.

"Shichiroji, I trust you know what to do, right?" Kambei said wryly.

The blond samurai chuckled. "Just leave it to me!" He'd already done some of his own assessments yesterday, and couldn't wait to get started.

Kambei turned next to Kyuzo, who stood quietly staring at the farmers and taking a grim pleasure in watching Manzo edge farther and farther away from him. "Kyuzo-_dono_, I want you to gather the village men and teach them to use bow and arrow."

Kyuzo nodded slightly. "Understood."

Gosaku and some of the other farmers swallowed hard. The idea of actually taking up arms against the Nobuseri was not what they'd had in mind when they had hired the samurai, but it was too late to back out now.

Katsushiro stepped forward eagerly. "What should I do, sensei?"

"You'll be on guard duty."

Katsushiro's face fell. "Oh, great, guard duty."

But Kambei stepped forward and studied him with great seriousness. "Do not let any enemy scout get away. They cannot know about us before defensive preparations are complete."

Suddenly the young samurai realized just how much trust Kambei was placing in him, and he stood much straighter. "Yes, sir!"

Kambei and the samurai turned back to the farmers, and the former commander raised his voice so that all the peasants could hear him. "If we do not work together now, we've lost this war before it's begun! Let us band together against the Nobuseri and defend Kanna Village!"

At first there were one or two ragged cheers, but they were quickly silenced. Then, to the astonishment of both the samurai and the peasants, a loud defiant shout echoed in the morning's still air.

The Elder's head was thrown back, screaming at the sky.

Komachi and Okara quickly joined, as did Rikichi and several of the other farmers. Soon all of the peasants were shouting and yelling, all of their pent-up frustration, resentment, and anger coming out at once until the rice stalks trembled.

As the peasants began to disperse though, heading toward their assigned duties or their homes, Gorobei approached Kambei. "What about Nasami?"

"Shichiroji has already requested her assistance in preparing our defenses," Kambei replied.

"I wonder why," Gorobei mused. "As quiet and as skilled as she is, I figured you would have assigned her to guard duty along with Katsushiro."

"That was my original intent, but as Shichiroji pointed out, given Nasami's military training, our cause is better served with Nasami helping him, so she will help him."

Gorobei frowned. "Her military training?"

Kirara and Katsushiro looked equally confused.

Kambei arched an eyebrow. "You mean you don't know where she studied, Gorobei-_dono_?"

And suddenly Gorobei smiled. "You're right… I'd forgotten about that."

"Forgotten about what, great samurai?" Katsushiro asked.

"Our samuraiko friend, in addition to being a phenomenal swordsman, is also very well trained in the art of covert warfare."

"Covert warfare? What does that mean?" Kirara asked, puzzled, and Shichiroji came up, grinning.

"It means that the bandits are in for one hell of a time."

* * *

Soon it became a common sight around Kanna to see peasants assembling weapons, gathering supplies, or training. The samurai seemed to be everywhere at once, providing instructions and guidance. 

At one point, Nasami asked for two dozen volunteers to join her on the other side of the bridge for additional preparations. From the Kanna side of the bridge, a few of the peasants watched their friends digging in the fields in the far side. Nasami was standing on a high rocky outcropping, surveying the land, and shouting to the peasants.

"Hey Momotaro, what is Nasami doing?" Komachi asked Shichiroji.

"Planning a few surprises for our bandit friends," the blond samurai said cheerfully as he directed his own assigned farmers on building a wall and arranging for wood to be brought for creating defenses.

"Such as?" Okara asked.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, sweetheart," he said, winking at her, and the child blushed.

Two or three days later, he joined Nasami in one of the abandoned houses that they were using for stashing raw materiel, and together they began mixing chemicals up.

Kirara came by to see what they were doing, but as she inhaled, she gagged and stepped back. "Ugh, that smells awful! What in the world are you making?"

Nasami glanced up from where she was carefully sealing a barrel with hot pitch. She smiled at the water priestess and began ladling a foul-smelling, grayish-yellow mixture into another barrel. "Something that my _sensei_ taught me."

"What is it?" Holding her nose, Kirara entered the house. She carefully reached out and touched her fingers to the substance – it felt slightly grainy, like a very fine sand, but oily at the same time, and it clung to her fingers.

Shichiroji picked up a spare arrow and dipped it into the compound, then he stepped outside. He carefully lit a candle, then touched the candle to the mixture on the arrowhead.

It immediately burst into flame, and remained burning for quite some time. "A useful little trick for keeping your enemies at a distance," Shichiroji said.

On the other side of the village, Kyuzo was drilling the farmers in the use of the bow. They stood five abreast, holding bows in shaking arms as the samurai stood to one side.

"Hold your breath as you draw the bow," he advised Gosaku, who was standing closest to him.

"Okay," Gosaku said, drawing a breath and trying to hold it.

"See your enemy as closer to you than he really is. Draw him to you, then fire."

The farmers let their arrows fly, or at least some of them. A couple dropped their bows, and Gosaku's arrow went straight up, then came right back down as he dove out of the way.

* * *

And yet… the peasants were not convinced.

* * *

"First the samurai come, then they bring a wanted criminal with them, and now we have to fight alongside of them!" Manzo groused. "This whole arrangement just keeps getting worse! What should we expect next?" 

"Hush, Manzo, the samurai will hear you!" Gosaku whispered. "Besides, there's nothing we can do about it now!"

"That's not true… we can always get rid of them," he said dangerously. "After all, there are only eight of them."

"We're just rice farmers!" Mosuke said, with a fearful glance at Kyuzo and Nasami. "We can't hurt them!"

Manzo's attention was suddenly caught by the sight of Nasami walking past the clearing where Kyuzo was training them, and his eyes narrowed. All at once, a rush of anger and frustration filled him as he looked at the woman – not only was she samurai, but she was a fugitive, and a woman who clearly had no idea what her place was.

And suddenly he had an idea.

But then by coincidence, she glanced over, and her eyes met his. He paled, and took an involuntary step backward.

"I don't care what the samurai say," Manzo said stubbornly as he and two other farmers later crossed the bamboo forest after trying to train with Kyuzo. "There's no way a few rice farmers with arrows can beat the Nobuseri!"

"They're machines!" Kanzo agreed, nodding and wringing his hands.

"We don't even stand a chance," Gonzo said soberly.

"We should beg them for mercy," Manzo said, but in the back of his mind, he still remembered the cold fire he'd seen in Kyuzo's eyes the night the samurai had caught him in the woods.

"Yes, I agree," Kanzo said. He didn't really think that the Nobuseri would listen, but it had to be better than what they were going through now.

Manzo pushed the thought of Kyuzo out of his head. "A bandit patrol will be here around seven o'clock. Maybe if we were to go and appeal to them right away…" But then he remembered how it felt when he'd seen Nasami walk by, and wished that he could hand her over to the Nobuseri personally. After all, if the bandits promised to spare Kanna just for handing over the samurai, what would they do if they were to give them the woman wanted for murdering an Imperial Envoy?

"You think they'd let us go?" Gonzo said in surprise, turning to Manzo, but then a loud rustling from the bamboo startled them.

All at once Kikuchiyo emerged from the bamboo forest, holding several cut lengths of bamboo under one arm.

"Hey, that's what I call good timing!" he said in high spirits. He studied the three farmers carefully, then selected one of the bamboo lengths, and pointed it at them. All three peasants yelped and took a step back from the giant machine samurai.

"Yeah, that should do for now," Kikuchiyo said in satisfaction. "All right, let's begin!"

"Begin what?" Gonzo asked, still staring at the length of bamboo that Kikuchiyo was holding like a staff.

"Your training!" he replied, sounding surprised that they even had to ask. "All right, listen up! From this moment on, I am your commander! Stop whining and follow me!"

Gonzo and Kanzo were too shocked to say anything, but Manzo immediately fled into the bamboo forest, unwilling to be part of this any further.

Later that evening, Shino was preparing the evening meal when she saw her father heading out the door.

"Dad, where are you going? Dinner is almost ready!"

"I have to take care of something first." He wouldn't meet her eyes as he pulled on his sandals.

Shino was about to ask him what it was he had to do, when suddenly she felt a chill race down her spine.

"Wait… Dad, you're not… you're not going to…"

"It's none of your business what I do, Shino. You'll stay right here."

In that instant, she knew she was right, and she gasped. "The samurai!"

"Be silent!" he shouted as he got to his feet and stepped outside, but Shino could not just sit idly by while her father got himself, the samurai, or anyone else in the village killed.

"Dad, wait! Don't go!"

Manzo pushed her out of the way. "Move, girl!"

Shino, however, had finally had enough of her father's cowering. After spending the last several days watching the samurai, seeing how they were trying so hard to help, doing everything they could to fulfill their promise, it broke her heart to stand by and do nothing. She had to make Manzo see reason, so she put into words what her father would not admit to.

"You're gonna sell the samurai out to the bandits, aren't you?"

He rounded on her. "Did you know they're going to destroy the bridge? That we'll be isolated from the rest of the village?"

She stepped backward in surprise. Obviously Manzo had been doing a lot more eavesdropping than she'd realized, but it still didn't justify his actions.

In his mind, however, it did. "If we're going to lose our farm anyway, what was the point of hiring the samurai in the first place?"

Shino refused to back down. "If it will help save the village, we have to make that sacrifice!" she pleaded.

"I'm doing this for you, girl!" Manzo said angrily, frustrated that Shino was oblivious to something so important. "Once our farm's been destroyed, who will want to marry you?"

The farm girl straightened up proudly, thinking of a woman with white hair and unflinching courage. She had seen firsthand just what a woman of will could do, and even though that dream might be nearly impossible to reach, she would dare just once to imagine what life beyond the rice fields could be like. "What do I care? I'll marry a samurai!"

Her dreams were rudely shattered as Manzo slapped her full across the face.

"Foolish child, you will never disgrace me in such a way!" he shouted, but his daughter did not look at him, nor did she give in as she had so many times before. There was a time and place for familial piety and obedience, but this wasn't it.

"I hate you!" she cried, pushing her father aside and fleeing before his hopelessness and anger could contaminate her. She ran as fast as she could, her feet pounding across the bridge as she ran, tears stinging her eyes. Even as she cursed her father, she still loved enough to try and protect him… and she knew full well what would happen if the quiet samurai who'd discovered her father the other night found out what Manzo was about to do.

At first, she tried to find the samuraiko Nasami. Sure, the woman was samurai, but she seemed to have a kind heart; surely she would understand. But although she searched and searched, she couldn't seem to find her, until at last she reached the Shrine of Water, exhausted.

"Why… why did I come here?" she asked aloud, as the water trickled and flowed down the shrine.

Then it made sense. Being unable to locate the samuraiko, she had managed to find her way to the home of the only person besides her who understood what the samurai truly stood for.

Kirara would know what to do. She _had_ to know.

Or else Kanna – and the samurai - would be done for.

_To be continued_…


	20. Despair, Darkness, and Death

_Note: So many of my favorite scenes in the series are here and in the next chapter- the beginning of Katsushiro's descent into darkness, Kambei and the katana, Kikuchiyo's denouncement of farmers and samurai alike - it was incredibly humbling to write. And oddly enough, I actually wrote these chapters AFTER I had already finished Chapters Twenty-Two through Twenty-Four! In retrospect, I think it's because I was almost afraid to... _

_(I had originally intended to do this as one long chapter, but it was WAYYYY too long, so I split it in two - this chapter, titled 'Despair, Darkness and Death,' and then the next, titled 'To Do What We Must.')_

_For a while, I wondered what music to use, and then I realized I had not yet used music from one of my favorite anime films (which is funny, because I resisted seeing this movie at first thinking I would hate it, and ended up adoring the film - okay, John, I admit it - you were right and I was wrong). So the music for Chapter Twenty is the hauntingly eerie "Hallucinations," from the score for VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST._

_Other note: What a day! Not only do I find out I have the day off for a nice 3-day weekend with hubby mine in San Diego for his birthday - gonna go catch DBZ: FUSION REBORN on the big screen - but apparently Avex is releasing the full SAMURAI 7 soundtrack on CD! WOOT! Why can't all my Mondays be like this?_

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Twenty_

Kirara stepped out of the small hut, and as she always did, glanced over to the Water Shrine with a soft smile. She loved looking at the gently flowing water, especially when it sparkled in the light of the setting sun.

Shino saw her emerge, and leapt up from where she'd been crouching near the shrine. "Kirara, you have to help me stop my dad before anyone finds out!"

Kirara's eyes went wide at the sight of her friend so distraught and practically panicking. Surely she didn't mean...

Shino went on, gesturing behind her toward the north cliff. "He's going to betray the village! He's on his way to tell the bandits about the samurai!"

Neither girl realized it, but Katsushiro had just walked past through the woods, holding flowers for Kirara in his hands. But at Shino's words, he froze in his tracks, and then quickly moved to stand behind a tree and listen. He knew that just charging out would frighten Shino into silence, but Kirara could probably get more information out of the girl.

He wasn't as quiet as he'd thought, for Kirara's eyes quickly glanced his way, then returned to Shino's worried gaze. With a calm she didn't really feel, she murmured, "We can't allow him to do that." And she mentally crossed her fingers, hoping that Katsushiro would understand what she meant - it would take drastic measures to stop Manzo from selling out the samurai.

Shino was sobbing. "But if that quiet samurai finds out about Dad, he'll kill him, I just know he will! Kirara…"

As though reading Katsushiro's thoughts, Kirara knew she had to calm Shino down to get any details out of her. "I will think of something, Shino."

The relief on the other girl's face was profound, and she clutched Kirara's hands gratefully. "Oh, thank you…"

"Now where is Manzo?"

Shino pointed northward, toward where she had found her father the other night on the way to try and betray the samurai earlier. "He's on the north cliff, waiting for the seven o'clock scout."

Katsushiro sighed to himself as he glanced down at the flower in his hand. He had hoped, almost prayed, it would not come to this after Nasami and Kyuzo's warnings about Manzo the other night, but it seemed that particular prayer was not being answered.

Then he started as Kirara called him by name, and he emerged from behind the tree.

"You heard all of that, didn't you?" It was a statement, not a question.

Shino flinched, glanced over and saw Katsushiro standing half-hidden in the shadows. Then she stepped backward in horror when she realized that the samurai had heard everything, half-expecting to be cut down on the spot for being a traitor's daughter.

But Katsushiro did nothing... he merely kept his hands at his sides and gazed quietly at the two girls, waiting for them to speak.

"I would like to ask for your help," Kirara said at last.

Katsushiro bowed his head. "I'll do my duty."

The flowers would have to wait.

* * *

Finding Manzo was easy. With all his attention focused on circling the lantern in the signal that the bandits had told them to use if they had information, he never heard his daughter, Kirara, and Katsushiro come creeping up behind him to crouch behind a nearby boulder. 

"There he is," Shino whispered. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, especially after two of the samurai had warned her father against betraying the village.

Katsushiro frowned and placed his hand on his sword, hoping against hope that the bandits wouldn't notice, that Manzo would change his mind…

That one of the samurai would come along and find out...

And then, to their horror, they heard the wheezing and clumping sound of a Yakan combat machine climbing the cliff. As the lid of the shell opened, Shino bit back a gasp when she recognized the same bandit who had terrorized the village a few days earlier with the announcement that the Nobuseri knew of their planned rebellion.

Manzo bowed deeply, and not without a little fear. After all, he was about to do something terrible, even if it was to protect his land and his daughter. "Sir, you honor me with your presence."

Genzo dropped to the ground and stood over Manzo. "Are there any changes in the village?"

The terrified farmer bowed even lower. It had seemed so easy before, the idea of just telling the bandits about the samurai and Nasami being here, but the words suddenly wouldn't come.

"What is it?" Genzo demanded, his hand resting on his sword.

"I… I'm sorry!" Manzo prostrated himself completely as he tried desperately to summon his courage.

Genzo hung on to his patience. He was fairly certain that he knew what the peasant was about to say, but he wanted to hear it from Manzo's own mouth. "Just tell me what happened…"

"S-s-s-samurai came to the village!" Manzo finally blurted out, his voice breaking.

Outwardly, Genzo looked thoughtful. On the inside, however, his mind was racing furiously, assessing his subordinates' combat readiness, planning the time it would take to notify the Nobuseri, wondering how many samurai there were...

Wait a moment.

Manzo had not said, "A samurai..." That meant there was more than one... "Samurai? How many of them?"

"S-s-seven, sir!"

"So it's those samurai… they travel fast." Genzo both rejoiced and cursed at the same time. He and the others had been warned, thanks to Hyogo and their spy, that a group of seven samurai were on their way to Kanna, and it seemed that the information was accurate. However, he'd hoped to also catch the samuraiko Nasami here, but that would have raised the count to eight. "You've done well."

Manzo let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sir!"

Cursing to himself, Katsushiro silently drew his sword. Inside, he was both terrified and exhilirated, knowing that he could finally prove himself to Kambei in the fulfillment of his duty.

Shino, however, thought that the young samurai was planning to not only kill Genzo, but her father, and turned to him, her eyes pleading. "Great samurai…!"

"Don't worry, Shino. I won't hurt your father," Katsushiro promised, although he wished he could beat the man senseless for what he was doing.

For all her faith in him, Kirara suddenly felt a surge of doubt. While the young man had killed the two kidnappers sent after her before, he'd had Nasami there to help him. This time, he was alone... against a much more competent-looking opponent. "Can you defeat him?" she whispered.

At Katsushiro's pause, she abruptly realized that he'd been thinking the same thing. But in the end, there was no room for doubt. He would either succeed... or die trying. "I must."

Genzo started to climb back onto his Yakan shell, when suddenly Manzo looked up.

The samuraiko. He had forgotten all about her.

"Sir, there's more!" he stammered, and Genzo turned. "There's something else!"

"What now?"

Katsushiro, Kirara, and Shino gasped. Surely Manzo wouldn't... he _couldn't_...

He did.

* * *

"A woman... a s-samurai woman is also here." 

Genzo whirled around. A samurai woman... who had already been seen traveling with the seven to Kanna. It would seem that luck truly was with him, if the Wandering Crane had been so trustingly foolish as to come to the village.

"What is her name?" the bandit demanded, and for a moment, Manzo hesitated. "TELL ME HER NAME!"

But before Manzo could do so, Katsushiro sprang out of hiding, and unleashed a loud kiai shout.

Both Genzo and Manzo turned, Genzo with caution, Manzo in panic.

While Kirara and Shino cowered behind the rock to watch, Katsushiro charged, then leapt into the air to attack Genzo standing on the arm of his Yakan machine. But the wily bandit deflected the attack easily, and then kicked Katsushiro in the ribs, hard enough to drive the breath from his body and knock him back.

The young samurai, however, held onto his wits and his balance long enough to land on his feet, wincing. "I can't let you leave here alive!" he said bravely, holding his side and gasping in pain. If Genzo left here knowing not only that samurai were here, but also Nasami...

Genzo scoffed at him. He'd been expecting a threat, and instead found himself facing an untested child. "And how will you stop me, little boy?"

But even as his caution about Katsushiro dissipated, anger appeared in its stead, and turned to Manzo. "You betrayed me!"

Manzo, hoping he'd been forgotten when Katsushiro had appeared out of nowhere to challenge Genzo, went straight past panic into absolute terror. Like all the other farmers in the Empire, he knew what happened when the Nobuseri believed themselves betrayed. Few, if any, survived the aftermath. "No, great one! That samurai just followed me on his own, I swear to you I didn't know anything about it!"

Ignoring Katsushiro, Genzo climbed back down from his Yakan shell, hand on his sword, and stalked toward Manzo, his katana drawn and pointed at the farmer's throat.

"A pitiful excuse!" he rumbled, drawing back to strike the terrified farmer.

At the sight of her father being threatened with death, Shino forgot her own caution and screamed. "FATHER!"

"Katsushiro!" Kirara pleaded, and yelling, Katsushiro charged Genzo once again as the bandit prepared to kill Manzo.

Again, Genzo deflected the attack away, much to Katsushiro's extreme frustration. He swung wildly several times, shouting, but the bandit was too experienced to be taken in by his untrained strikes. In fact, he was laughing as he dodged, not even bothering to parry the young samurai's flurry of swings.

After a while, Genzo remembered that he had information that should be reported to his superiors, so when Katsushiro attacked again, the bandit blocked, twisted the katana around to move Katsushiro's aside, whirled quickly and decked Katsushiro across the face, sending him flying and landing face down in the dirt.

Katsushiro gasped in pain, dazed by the fall, and Genzo resheathed his sword. But it was not enough for him to defeat the young man in combat... he wanted to make sure this young samurai would never be a threat. "You're like a child, swinging a stick. Children cannot kill… they can only play pretend."

Ignoring the danger of Genzo standing nearby, Kirara rushed over to Katsushiro, who had managed to sit upright and was staring blankly ahead, as though in a daze. "Katsushiro, are you all right?"

Chuckling to himself, Genzo hopped back into the Yakan with the parting shot, "Find another job, kid," then pulled the lid shut.

Neither Manzo nor Shino could speak... they could only stare at the departing bandit, knowing that this time, there would be no mercy, no second chance.

But Kirara was too angry to give up now. Angry at Manzo for betraying them, angry at Shino for involving her, angry at herself for not being able to fight for herself.

And angry at Katsushiro for failing.

But it's always easier to blame someone else when things go wrong, and she grabbed Katsushiro by the shoulders and shook him hard. "Get a hold of yourself!"

Katsushiro's eyes open wide, glittering in the light of Manzo's lantern,and as clear as day, images slammed into his mind.

The peasants' rice paddies burning...  
The farmers rounded up and executed...  
Kirara taken by the Nobuseri...  
The samurai cut down from behind...  
Nasami executed for murder...

All reason vanished as the bloodlust took hold.

And Kirara realized too late what she had just done.

Genzo had turned and was preparing to leave, but all at once, Katsushiro was on his feet, snatching up his sword, and shouting, "NO, YOU DON'T!"

Time seemed to slow.

Genzo looked back to see Katsushiro bearing down on him, screaming in fury, when all of a sudden Katsushiro leapt once again, this time his aim true, and swing at him…

Kirara cried out, but it was too late.

Katsushiro's katana sliced straight through the Yakan shell… and Genzo inside of it.

The bandit couldn't believe it. In an instant, the eyes of the young samurai had changed from naive youngster to battle-mad berzerker.

"Impossible," he choked as he died.

Blood and oil and filth spewed everywhere, including all over Katsushiro, kneeling on the ground in the last position of his attack. The samurai's eyes were huge, filled with agonizing pain, guilt, and shock, but he couldn't have moved if his life had depended on it. All he could do was hold his sword in trembling hands, his shoulders heaving with repressed sobs.

Slowly, the Yakan fell over, splitting apart, and Genzo's body tumbled out into the mud

"DAD!" Shino ran tearfully to her father and embraced him, while Kirara stood behind Katsushiro and stared. The young samurai was on the verge of a breakdown, holding his sword and gasping in deep, shuddering breaths.

And she had pushed him into it, driven him to kill because of her own cowardice and weakness.

"Oh, Katsushiro," she whispered, but he never heard her, never heard the apology in her voice over the roaring and screaming in his own head.

Katsushiro continued to stare at his sword and at the destruction he had wrought, fighting to hold back tears. As time seemed to move again, his mind was bombarded by the memories of what he had just done. There had been no elegance, no _satori _as there had been when he'd fought at Nasami's side.

There had been only madness.

* * *

Somewhere in the back of Kirara's mind, she was dimly aware of Kikuchiyo's arrival, drawn by Shino's screams and Katsushiro's shouts. 

Then Heihachi appeared, his eyes wide at the scene. "What the..."

Kirara turned to him. "Manzo... he... you... Nasami..." was all she could get out, so upset was she at what she had forced Katsushiro into.

But as Heihachi glanced over at Manzo, who cowered away from him, he knew exactly what had happened. And he strode to stand over him in a cold fury, his entire body tense.

In that instant, Kambei came sprinting from out of the forest, staring at the body of the bandit on the ground, as Shino and Manzo flinched, Kirara turned in dismay, and Katsushiro knelt oblivious to it all.

"Kambei-_dono_…" Heihachi said, his voice angry, and everyone turned to the samurai as Kambei took everything in, his expression stony.

Finally, he stepped forward to stand beside the fallen bandit, Katsushiro kneeling in the blood and much beside him.

"Let me explain," Kirara pleaded, but Kambei ignored her to stand over Katsushiro. He looked dispassionately at the dead bandit, then back down at the young samurai. Even knowing he had told Katsushiro to do exactly what he had done, he also knew that samurai do not have the luxury of regret.

Of remorse.

Of sorrow.

At last, Katsushiro looked up, his eyes pleading for absolution, but Kambei struck him full across the face, knocking him to the ground and sending his sword flying to land in front of Manzo and Shino, who fell back with a cry.

Kirara gasped.

Kambei walked over to pick up Katsushiro's sword and stared at the blood and filth on the blade. He could tell Katsushiro tried to care for his sword, but hadn't the faintest idea of how to do so. The edge was ever so slightly dull and uneven, and the flat did not gleam.

He might not be able to repair the young man's soul, but he could repair his sword.

Then he glared down at the peasants, who winced and drew back even further. Then without a single word, he walked away, back the way he had come.

Finally, Katsushiro picked himself up and reached out for Kambei with a shaking hand and the anguished cry of, "_Sensei_, wait!"

Kambei did not stop, nor did he turn around to acknowledge the young samurai's plea.

"Kikuchiyo, deal with the body!" he said coldly, and vanished into the darkness.

Kikuchiyo came over to stand beside Katsushiro, grousing and pointing his katana at the young man. "Why do I have to do it? He's the one who killed the guy!"

Katsushiro flinched at his words, but he could not look away from his retreating _sensei_'s back.

"Ass… always giving me the grunt work," Kiku complained as he shoved his sword into the ground, started his motor, and began digging. Soon dirt was flying everywhere as he excavated a hole large enough to fit both the body and the Yakan shell.

While his back was turned, Heihachi grabbed Manzo by the back of the neck. "Let's go!" he ordered, beginning to drag the farmer back toward the village.

Shino might have hated her father, but she could not just stand aside and watch him executed for treachery. Summoning all of her courage, she approached Heihachi.

"Great samurai, please wait!"

Heihachi was in no mood to listen.

"Don't talk to me, girl."

Shino gasped at the venomous fury in the young mechanic's eyes, but Heihachi went on. "I don't need any more provocation… if I had my way, I'd take his life now."

Manzo immediately started panicking again and tried to free himself, but Heihachi's grip was too strong.

"Don't you dare!" Kikuchiyo shouted abruptly, standing in the hole he'd dug with his hands on his hips and steam blowing.

"Great samurai, please, he's my father, forgive him… I beg you!" Shino touched her head to the ground, practically sobbing.

"She's on her knees, show some mercy!" Kikuchiyo urged Heihachi, but the engineer ignored the weeping girl at his feet.

"Kambei-_dono _already gave you a job, just do it and leave this to me." Then he smiled, but it was cold and grim, nothing like his usual warm and open smile. "And don't worry, I promise I'm going to take really good care of him."

He walked off, dragging Manzo, who continued to protest and stammer, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" over and over again, even as Shino cried out for her father.

Kikuchiyo growled, but returned to digging the grave. After all, that was what Kambei had told him to do, and he would do it, even though he hated it.

And through it all, Katsushiro stared blindly forward, and all Kirara could do was watch.

* * *

Kambei walked through the bamboo forest, barely seeing any of it. He didn't notice the moonlight in the trees, or the gentle murmur of the night breeze. Nor did he notice the woman approaching him. 

Nasami had heard the commotion on the north cliff and had decided to investigate, when she saw Kambei coming down the path toward her, back toward the village.

And he was holding Katsushiro's sword. The samuraiko's eyes went wide when she saw the blood on the blade.

"Kambei-_san_?" she whispered as he walked past, but the samurai didn't even look at her.

Then she started running in the opposite direction.

* * *

"Kirara!" 

The water priestess turned to see Nasami come stumbling into the clearing. "I just saw Kambei-_san_ walking back toward the village holding…" The samuraiko's voice trailed away at the sight of the bandit's body, the Yakan shell split in half, and Katsushiro covered in blood and on his knees. Kikuchiyo was off to one side, busily digging a grave to hide the body and the wreckage of the Yakan combat shell.

"Oh, God, no," Nasami breathed. "What… what happened?"

Sobbing, Katsushiro staggered to his feet and bolted past the samuraiko.

"Katsushiro, wait!" she called, but the young samurai ignored her, heading back down the path after Kambei.

"Manzo tried to betray us," Kirara said softly. "All of us. He came here to tell this bandit about the samurai in the village. And… about you as well." The girl's face was filled with anguish. "I couldn't stop him, so I asked Katsushiro to help me. And…"

"And he had to kill him," Nasami finished for her, looking after the young samurai. "Where is Manzo?"

"Heihachi dragged him off," Kikuchiyo informed her as he dug, sending dirt and gravel flying. "And he's looking pretty torqued off, just grabbed Manzo by the collar and started hauling him toward the village."

"Great samurai, I'm afraid that… that Heihachi-_sama_ will kill Manzo," Kirara whispered. "And maybe even Shino, too. He could have gotten us all killed!"

"Kirara, go after Katsushiro," Nasami said, her voice firm. The water priestess opened her mouth to protest, but Nasami just pointed down the path. "He needs you right now. And you need to understand why he is reacting the way he is. Go."

Kirara bowed and walked off into the forest, and with a sigh, Nasami came to stand beside the hole Kikuchiyo was digging. The big machine samurai was cursing a blue streak as he continued to tunnel further into the ground.

"I'll finish this, Kikuchiyo, you go on ahead. You need to use that anger of yours productively, not just for digging a grave."

He stopped digging and looked at her. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"I know that you're angry because you feel powerless… powerless to tell Kambei-_san_ no when he set you to digging a grave. Powerless to stop Heihachi from carrying off Manzo. Powerless to spare Katsushiro from having to kill." She gently reached out and touched one of the enormous shoulder plates on the samurai's armor. "Powerless, even though physically you're the strongest of us all."

Kikuchiyo turned to her in amazement. "How… how did you-?"

"I'm not an idiot, Kikuchiyo-_san_." She smiled sadly. "And in a way, I think that, like Katsushiro, you are also going to have to confront things about yourself. But you have a much more important task right now."

"Me?"

"Yes." She stepped back and gestured for him to follow Katsushiro and Kirara. "It's time, Kikuchiyo-_san_. You must bring the truth to light… all of it."

_To be continued_...


	21. To Do What We Must

_Note: As I stated in the last chapter, this was originally all one long chapter. But in the end, I knew that it wouldn't really have the same impact, so I went ahead and split it. Whereas the last chapter is filled with darkness, here we see that those involved are not beyond redemption…_

_There's a wonderful line in the anime SPIRAL, where Eyes Rutherford is talking about Ayumu Narumi… "Kiyotaka said it best. 'The ability to get up after a defeat is far more admirable than the ability to never lose.'" Never more so than now is that sentiment so well expressed in SAMURAI 7. _

_The music for this chapter is the beautiful "You are the Pan," from John Williams' score for the film HOOK._

_Question for the readers... should I post the next few chapters all at once? Or should I wait between them? Because they're written... _

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Twenty-One_

Kambei stood inside Rikichi's small house, holding Katsushiro's bloody sword. With great care, he filled a ladle with water, then held the sword over the waste box and poured water over it. As the water trickled down the blade, it washed away the blood and the filth.

But not enough.

The samurai held up the sword, studying it intently. It still bore stains, and the edge was not nearly as sharp as it should have been. That Katsushiro had been able to slice through the Yakan shell was surprising, but such treatment of the blade could not go on. It almost hurt to look at it, knowing that a samurai like Kyuzo or Nasami, or himself for that matter, would never let a katana remain in such a condition.

First he stepped out of his shoes, leaving them on the dirt floor as he climbed up onto the raised platform. Then he sat himself with his back to the door and the warmth of the fire, and removed his gloves, setting them beside him. From the pack that Kikuchiyo had carried, he drew forth a small stand and a pale whetstone, the tools all samurai carried with them for the care of their swords. Next to them, he set up a small bucket of water. As he did so, he quieted his mind, letting his frustration and concern melt away, leaving only the emptiness of peace.

Serenity.

With the skill of long practice, Kambei started to dismantle the katana. The pins came out first and were laid carefully to one side, then the cord binding the tsuba to the guard was placed beside them. Then he took up a soft cloth, wrapped it around the base of the blade, and slid the tang of the katana free of the pommel, which was also laid aside.

He sighed to himself, a single breath that touched the sword, and then he poured a handful of water over the whetstone he had set up, and set to work.

* * *

Heihachi intended for the whole village to see what Manzo had done. This time, he wouldn't let Kambei just quietly convince him not to intervene, or sweep things under the rug. It was time that betrayal was dealt with in an honest fashion. 

He dragged Manzo past Kyuzo and the farmers where they were holding archery practice, past Shichiroji and the peasants who were busy building the ballista decoys, past the staring men, women, and children who had never seen the young mechanic looking anything but cheerful.

Ignoring the stares, the whispers, and Shino's desperate begging for mercy, Heihachi marched Manzo right into the middle of the village, his expression hard as stone. By now, virtually all of the farmers were there, or on their way there to see what all the commotion was about.

Manzo was still sobbing and pleading for mercy, trying to excuse his actions. "Please, great samurai, I was protecting my land!"

Shino continued to beg, "Great samurai, please!"

But Heihachi was unmoved. He might not have been able to do anything about Honoka's treachery, but this was going too far. At least Honoka hadn't actually hired the samurai she had betrayed.

Suddenly Gorobei arrived, drawn by all of the racket and Manzo's loud shouts and Shino's tearful pleas for forgiveness.

As the Elder approached, Heihachi's mouth tightened further, and he shoved Manzo forward, away from him. Shino gasped and ran to her father's side. "Dad!"

Manzo ignored her, crawling forward on hands and knees toward the Elder, clutching at him. "Elder, great Elder, save me!"

The Elder looked up at Heihachi with concern. "What is your dispute with this man?"

Heihachi's gaze and voice were both filled with barely controlled disgust. "This man who you're trying to protect sold us out to the bandits."

The Elder's face fell, and it was clear to all present that he was hoping the samurai was wrong, but when Manzo looked away, it was clear that Heihachi was telling the truth.

And to make matters worse, Kyuzo arrived, followed by Shichiroji and Rikichi… and all four of the samurai present knew that Manzo had already tried to betray them once before.

"Heihachi-_dono_…" Gorobei said quietly, and the mechanic turned to the other samurai.

"And that's not all… he was going to hand over Nasami-_dono_ as well."

Kyuzo's eyes narrowed.

* * *

Katsushiro arrived at Rikichi's house and stood in the doorway, still covered in blood and grime. He could see Kambei sitting with his back to him, calmly sharpening his blade. The older samurai gave no indication that he knew Katsushiro was there… or if he did, he didn't care. 

The young samurai took a few cautious steps inside and stopped just short of the platform.

"_Sensei_?" he whispered, but Kambei ignored him, the only sign that he'd heard the slightest pause as he worked.

Katsushiro closed his eyes, sighed in despair, and sank to his knees, just as Kirara arrived and stood in the doorway as he had moments before. She stopped, her heart pounding, suddenly realizing what the samuraiko had meant. In the face of Kambei's indifference, the young samurai would need an ally… a friend.

At last, Kambei was satisfied with his work, and he scooped one last handful of water over the blade. Then he took up the soft cloth and ran it down the length of the sword, until the flat of the blade reflected his face like a mirror.

"You must take care of your swords," he said finally, glancing back over his shoulder. "I have made the blade of your daito sharper. A samurai is one who kills."

Katsushiro flinched, and Kambei began to re-assemble the sword.

"Why did you come to this village?" Kambei asked him.

"To save it, of course," Katsushiro said faintly.

"Then you have done your job." The tang of the blade slid home with a faint snick, and Kambei retied the cord of the tsuba. "If you wish to continue on the samurai path, you must be prepared to carry the weight of those you kill." Then the older samurai rose to his feet, turned, and walked to stand over Katsushiro, who was still kneeling on the ground.

Suddenly, he drove the katana downward, slamming it point first into the platform in front of Katsushiro, and Kirara gasped.

Then Kambei stepped down from the platform into his shoes, and drew his own katana and saya from its resting place on his hip. He met Katsushiro's gaze, and then ground the point of his sheathed katana into the wound that was still bandaged on Katsushiro's thigh, and the young samurai barely bit back a cry of pain. "Otherwise, the meaning of this wound will be lost."

With cold eyes, Kambei turned his head to look at Kirara, who took an involuntary step backward. "Peasants lack the fortitude to fight Nobuseri. That is why it is _our_ role." His eyes and his tone took on the faintest hint of derision and self-mockery. "We are nothing but scarecrows… driving away the bandits who swarm over the crop."

* * *

Rikichi and the other farmers rounded on Manzo, furious at his betrayal. 

"How could you do that? They're trying to save us!" Rikichi shouted, rushing forward to grab Manzo and shake him furiously. "You're such a fool!"

"We all agreed to hire the samurai, Manzo. How could you betray the group decision?" Mosuke asked.

Manzo turned away. "I never agreed to anything, okay?"

"You could have killed us!" Rikichi hissed as Gozaku stepped forward.

"What do you mean, _you_ didn't agree?" he asked in disbelief.

"Bandits or samurai, what's the difference? Either one is the farmer's enemy! A-any man who carries a sword is going to treat us like slaves, like animals!" Manzo protested, but Rikichi shoved him away in disgust and got to his feet.

"Are you blind to all the work they've been doing here, trying to get us ready like we hired them to? They saved us countless times in the city, and they'll save us now!"

"But they're going to tear down the bridge, a-and abandon all the homes on the other side!" Manzo wailed, andall of the peasants started. "How is that saving us?"

Gorobei cursed silently. He and Kambei had discussed it with Shichiroji a few days earlier, as part of the requirements for fortifying their defenses. But it seemed that Manzo had been eavesdropping on that discussion, and had now chosen to spread that information without waiting for the samurai to explain themselves first.

"Tear down the bridge? Great samurai, that isn't the truth, is it?" Gozaku pleaded.

"Why would you do that?" Mosuke asked, and Shichiroji and Gorobei looked at one another.

"To have any chance of warding off the bandits, it has to be done," Shichiroji said flatly, and the peasants all looked at one another. Suddenly their confidence in the samurai was slipping away, and the samurai knew it.

Rikichi, however, could not just stand there and let his friends' fear ruin their chances of success. "I know how you all feel, but the samurai have their plan! We have to trust them!"

Manzo was still on his hands and knees, sobbing, "But I don't understand! Those rice fields have been passed down by my ancestors! Deserting them is the same thing as death!" He lifted his head to stare at the Elder, who still stood quietly, watching and listening. "Tell me, Elder, how are they any different from the bandits? HOW?"

Gonzo stepped forward to stand just behind Heihachi. "Sorry, but I won't condemn Manzo. I sympathize with his words."

Kanzo nodded. "Me, too."

Rikichi whirled around, his eyes wide with disbelief. "WHAT?"

Gonzo went on. "I know you went to a lot of trouble to bring samurai here, but maybe it was a mistake. The bandits have already warned us... if they learn we've hired samurai, they'll kill us all!"

Again, Kanzo nodded. "That's right," he agreed, paler than ever.

"You should understand how serious their threats are, Rikichi," Gonzo continued, his voice softer, trying to be persuasive without offending the younger farmer. "We've all seen the bandits' work... what they can take away."

Heihachi, on the other hand, couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So of course, you figured the fair thing to do was talk to the bandits in secret and offer up the samurai _you_ hired to save your own lives?" His brown eyes narrowed angrily. "_Right_."

And with that, he stepped up to Manzo and placed his hand on his sword. The farmer and his daughter cowered, but there was no compassion, no warmth in the engineer's face... only loathing. And Manzo knew that now, even more so than when Genzo had threatened him, he was staring death in the face.

Until another voice came. "Heihachi-_dono_."

Shichiroji.

"Don't say you're actually defending this guy!" Heihachi hissed.

"I'm saying we should let Kambei-_sama_ decide."

Heihachi laughed bitterly. "He'll forgive anything, and you know it! This is war, we can't afford to be soft! This farmer clearly betrayed us... once a traitor, always a traitor."

Shichiroji took a step forward. "Listen..."

The mechanic cut him off. "Cutting him down is like destroying the bridge. It's just the reality of war - you _don't_ let traitors live."

"He does have a point," Kyuzo said dryly from the rock on which he sat.

The farmers stared in horror as Heihachi took his stance and prepared to draw his katana...

... until Shichiroji moved forward and grabbed his sword hand. The two samurai stood staring at one another, neither willing to give in on the issue.

"Maybe you don't care about your own life," Heihachi whispered angrily, "but do you even give a damn about Nasami-_dono_'s? Our deaths would be nothing compared to hers."

Anger flared in Shichiroji's eyes. "She made her own choice to come here, and she knows the risks. Do _you_ think for one second that she would want you to turn murderer for her?"

* * *

Kambei stood quietly watching Katsushiro, who was still sitting in a daze on the floor, staring at his sword impaled in the platform. 

"Take your sword back now, Katsushiro," he said softly, but the young samurai's hands tightened into fists. "Then get yourself some rice. You'll need your strength to kill again." And with that, he brushed past Kirara and walked outside.

Kirara had seen Katsushiro remorseful, had seen him angry, had seen him upset... but never had she seen such... emptiness in the young man's soul.

Slowly Katsushiro got to his feet, and with tears in his eyes, he reached out and placed his hand on the katana's pommel.

"I'm sorry, Katsushiro," Kirara whispered from behind him.

"There's no need for you to apologize," he replied, although a part of him wanted nothing more than to blame the water priestess for forcing him into this situation. But in his heart, he knew it wasn't her fault... it was his. He yanked hard, and the katana came free. His eyes studied the blade, taking in the care that Kambei had used to sharpen and polish it until it was truly a samurai weapon once again.

"I convinced you to do a horrible thing... take your first life to make a situation easier for me when you had to carry the burden." She lifted her head to look at him. "That's what the scent of battle is, isn't it? The burden samurai carry... the ghosts of the men they've killed."

Katsushiro bowed his head and closed his eyes. Every time he thought he understood what it meant to be samurai, fate constantly proved him wrong. "A true samurai denies his feelings of doubt. I thought I was prepared to kill, but I was naive, and I hesitated." It made his heart ache to imagine any of the other samurai in his place - he knew that someone like Gorobei, Nasami, or Kyuzo would not have paused in fulfilling their duty. But it never crossed his mind that there was a reason for that. Not only were all three samurai older than he, but all three had served in the war, all three had been samurai their entire lives... all three had faced death in their lives and had dealt it out themselves.

He turned back to face Kirara, resheathing his katana as he did so. "If I cannot be strong, the village will fall."

Suddenly Kirara reached out and took his hand in both of hers, clasping it tightly. "Let me sink with you, and share the weight."

Katsushiro stared, his eyes wide.

"Kambei was right... we make you kill to protect us, because we're cowards." Finally knowing in her heart what the samuraiko had meant when she had sent Kirara after Katsushiro, Kirara slid her hands down the young man's arm, feeling the strength there, even as it trembled. "At least let me wash the blood that spills on your skin."

Slowly, she sank to her knees, and pressed her lips to the back of his hand. Katsushiro could not have pulled away if he'd wanted to, only having eyes for the girl he loved, even as his tears finally spilled over and slid down his cheeks.

* * *

As Kambei stepped into the center of the village, he stopped in surprise at the tableau before him - Manzo and Shino cowering on the ground, Heihachi and Shichiroji locked in stalemate. 

Gorobei glanced over and saw him. "Great timing," he said dryly.

Kambei also saw the Elder standing and watching quietly, Rikichi glaring at two of his fellow farmers, and Kyuzo watching the whole thing implacably.

"Long story," Gorobei began, but then a loud shout drew everyone's attention.

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

Charging like a bull, waving his sword around to drive the peasants back, Kikuchiyo came running straight at the group.

"I said _move_, you wide-eyed cowardly rice rats! Out of the damned way!" He charged straight up to where Manzo and Shino crouched, and slammed his sword down into the ground, creating a crater nearly six feet in diameter. Shino shrieked and crawled backward, trying to get away from the crazy machine samurai.

"That idiot!" Gorobei groaned. "I've told him countless times not to swing that sword in the village! HEY!"

But before he could step forward, Kambei stopped him. "Only Kikuchiyo can handle this situation now," he said calmly. He vaguely remembered Nasami passing him in the bamboo forest, and he suddenly smiled to himself. Of course... he should have known that the samuraiko would be behind Kikuchiyo's sudden appearance.

"I knew it would come down to this!" Kikuchiyo ranted, getting to his feet and then getting up in Rikichi's face. "We're going to put Manzo on trial, a little village tribunal, _right_?"

Then he rounded on the samurai. "Or wait! Maybe we should skip the ceremonies and chop his head off now, save some time!"

Gorobei leaned back from the steam that was pouring from the big machine samurai's helmet.

Kikuchiyo pointed a finger straight at Shichiroji. "You know nothing about farmers, samurai, so don't think about handing out verdicts!" He spun to point to Heihachi. "And _you_! You lay another finger on that man, you'll be dealing with me!"

Heihachi was not impressed. "Oh, really?"

"You're damned right! Just ask the farmers, take a vote! They'll never fault Manzo for what he did, and _neither will you_!"

He whirled around once again, and stamped his foot angrily, creating another small crater. "Do I think farmers are noble? Oh, they're foxes! Treacherous beasts! They'll stoop to _anything_ that makes their lives easier! That's why they hired samurai to defend Kanna for them! It's your village... put your own stinking lives on the line!"

Kikuchiyo turned back to the samurai. "But oh, no! They'd never do that! Sure, they'd sweat all day in the fields for their darling rice..."

He leaned right into Gonzo's face.

"... but they won't spill their blood for it!"

Slowly, the big machine samurai stalked down the line of farmers, who shrank away from his glare. "They say, _'We have no rice, we only eat millet, we've got nothing_!' But they have _everything_! Dig under the floorboards, search the barns, or those hidden storehouses... you'll find _plenty_ there! Rice! Sake! Salt! Meat!"

Once again, he glanced back at the samurai. "Oh, they pose as meek, but they're all full of lies! If they smell battle, they hunt the defeated! If the winds change, they betray you! Farmers are stinking, foxy, blathering, cowardly, cruel, stupid _murderers_!"

He dropped down to sit beside Manzo. "Damn it, that's what they are! But who made them into these miserable beasts?" he shouted, hitting Manzo across the back of the head and sending him sprawling. Then he glared up at the samurai and pointed at them.

"_You_ did... you samurai did it to them!" Kikuchiyo growled in frustration. "You burn their villages, destroy their farms, steal their food, force them into slave labour, take their women, kill them if they resist! So what _should_ farmers do? _WHAT_?"

He looked back at Manzo. "I can't blame Manzo, conniving and pathetic as he is. He just played the odds and the bandits won, that's all. Because farmers are corrupt, the bandits are corrupt, and samurai are corrupt! Why would anyone risk their lives for anyone?"

Then he turned, and saw Nasami standing at the edge of the forest, with dirt on her hands and face, and tears on her cheeks. In an instant, he realized that somehow,_she had known_. Even knowing the truth, she had kept her own counsel, and she had believed in him enough to encourage him to speak up. And even knowing that the farmers would most likely betray her to her death, she had chosen to remain in Kanna, honoring the promise she had made.

And in that instant, he knew what he had to do... what he had to say.

"But _I'll _fight for them! I'll kill all the bandits, damn it!"

And he began to sob, his shoulders heaving, his voice breaking even as he continued to whisper, "Damn it..."

For a long, long time, the farmers and the samurai all stood in silence, the only sound being Kikuchiyo's sobs. Kambei glanced up and saw Nasami standing there, her arms wrapped around herself as she watched Kikuchiyo. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked over and her eyes met his. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of the dirt on her face and her hands, and he realized that she had sent Kikuchiyo here, and had finished digging the grave by herself.

And if a samurai was willing to lower herself to a peasant's tasks, perhaps a peasant could aspire to a samurai's duty.

Slowly, he approached Kikuchiyo, who was still quietly weeping. "You were born a farmer, weren't you, Kikuchiyo?"

Kikuchiyo turned to look back at him, even as all of the farmers gasped and the samurai looked at one another.

Komachi and Okara came forward to stand in front of the big machine samurai. "Is that true, Kiku, you're a farmer?" Komachi asked, staring at him.

"You're disappointed," Kikuchiyo said heavily, hanging his head in shame, but Komachi shook her head.

"Who, me? No!" she said brightly. "That just means you can help us with the harvest!"

"What?" The machine samurai looked up at the child who had always believed in him... and continued to do so even now.

"Then my suspicions were correct," Kambei said quietly.

"You mean you guessed it before?" Kikuchiyo asked in dismay, and Kambei nodded.

"From the very first time I met you."

Kikuchiyo turned around and folded his arms over his chest defensively. "Okay, I was a farmer. So what? I figured if I acted like a samurai, people would think of me better!"

"Then do you now think better of samurai?" Kambei asked.

Kikichiyo started to respond, then thought it over, and looked away. "No."

Her eyes shining, Okara came around to look at Kikuchiyo. "Kiku, you can be my new sidekick!"

Komachi, however, glared at her. "Excuse me, he's my sidekick!"

And Kambei smiled, a feeling of satisfaction coming over him. "At last, the seven are complete."

"What?" Kikuchiyo stared up at him, hardly daring to hope.

"I had hoped for this - a fighter with a farmer's heart may help us. But for your samurai spirit to shine through, you had to understand who you truly are." Kambei glanced down at the farmer who still crouched beside Kikuchiyo. "Manzo..."

Immediately Manzo flattened himself face down in the dirt. "Please, forgive me!" he wailed.

"Great samurai, I beg you, spare his life! Please!" Shino begged, bowing alongside her father.

Kambei moved to kneel beside the terrified peasant. It took a great deal for him to try and sympathize with the farmer who had betrayed not only the samurai, but the woman who had risked her life for them, but he could almost hear Nasami's voice, pleading for compassion. There had to be a way to make him understand. "Manzo, you love your land, yes?"

"Yes, yes!" Manzo sobbed.

"But think about it... is it really your land right now, or is it the Nobuseri's?"

At that, Shino and Manzo both looked up. It was clear to all present that neither of them had ever seen it in that light before.

"If you truly love your land, then fight for it," Kambei urged him. "And if you love your daughter, then fight for her! _Do what you must_! Do it for the whole village, and be honest with yourself! Selfish deeds are the shortest path to self-destruction. Do not forget that this is not your normal harvest season, or village politics as usual. _We are waging a war here_. And I no longer think of you as a mere rice farmer... you are an honorable soldier of Kanna Fortress."

Manzo's eyes were huge, as were that of all the other peasants. For the first time in their lives, they stood straight and tall, seeing respect in the eyes of the samurai.

Kambei went on. "And as a soldier, you understand why, for the sake of the whole, the bridge must be destroyed, and your home abandoned."

The momentary gleam of hope in the farmer's eyes died away, and he slumped his shoulders in defeat, but Kambei was not through. "Once the bandits are dealt with, fallen homes can be rebuilt."

Then he leaned closer.

"But heed this warning... if you betray us again, _I will kill you myself_."

"Of course! Thank you!" Manzo cried, flattening himself once again in a bow.

"So the farmers of Kanna are soldiers now," the Elder said dryly, and Kambei turned to look at him.

"Do you disapprove, great Elder?"

Grinning, the Elder shook his head. "No, no. Sounds good to me!"

Kambei looked back at Shichiroji and Heihachi. "So this matter is settled?"

The two samurai looked at one another, then both looked back at Kambei and nodded. If Kambei and Nasami were willing to forgive, they would be willing as well.

Kambei got to his feet and raised his voice. "Then what are you all doing? We've lost enough time already! Get back to your work!"

As the villagers returned to their previous tasks, Nasami approached and came to kneel beside Kikuchiyo. "I'm very proud of you, Kikuchiyo-_san_," she said softly. "What you did was very brave."

"You really think so?" he asked her, and she nodded.

Slowly, as though afraid of hurting her, Kikuchiyo raised one hand and gently touched the tears on her face. "Why... are you crying?"

"I... I am sorry, Kikuchiyo-_san_. I am sorry that I doubted you. For the longest time, I was afraid that you would never find your true courage." She reached out and touched the sword that the big machine samurai had driven into the ground, as the other samurai came to stand around them. "A samurai's greatest strength is not found in his sword... it is found in his soul. And as long as you did not recognize that so much of your strength came from who you were, and not who you were trying to be, you could never truly be samurai. But tonight... I..."

The samuraiko bowed her head. "Please forgive me."

Kikuchiyo was stunned. A samurai... asking _his_ forgiveness?

Fora long time, no one spoke. Then with a laugh that sounded suspiciously like him choking back tears, Kikuchiyo reached out and lightly tugged the samuraiko's long foxtail. "Well... you _are_ the only one who hasn't been giving me a hard time since the day we met!"

The tension disappeared as all of them started laughing.

Heihachi, however, was staring after Manzo, frowning as he watched Shino lead her father away. "Are you always that forgiving of people who betray you?" he asked the samuraiko.

"Actually, no," she replied, looking over at him, thinking of Hyogo and Yashiko. "But no one is truly innocent, Heihachi-_san_."

She looked back the way she had come, where she had finished digging the grave and burying the bandit. And she shivered.

"No one..."

_To be continued_...


	22. All Things are Possible

_Note: The scene with the peasants and Nasami is an homage to one of her best moments in our 'Legend of the Five Rings' campaign. One of the worst battles we've ever fought against the Shadowlands. It's all blood, screams, gore, chaos, Taint, and death; no sleep during four straight days of battle, and the Empire will fall to darkness if we fail. Hell. Kaminari, a friend of Nasami's, is at the front of the fighting, trying to rally the flagging samurai, when he sees a maho-tsukai (evil sorcerer) casting a spell that will obliterate the samurai defending the Great Wall. Thousands will die, and Kaminari can't reach the maho-tsukai in time. Kaminari looks around frantically for Nasami (game mechanic - Nasami's katana_ Mamorimasu _can counter any hostile spell or spell-like effect), but she is 300 yards away protecting a group of shugenja (sorcerer-priests)._

_The maho-tsukai laughs, and just as the spell is completed, shouts, "Today the Empire falls!"... when an arrow races through the air... and slices straight through the throat of the maho-tsukai. As he falls, the spell dissipates, and Kaminari and the other samurai in the battle look back to see Nasami standing on the Wall, bow in hand. She lifts the bow over her head and screams a defiant prayer to Amaterasu the Sun Goddess to witness the bravery of her samurai, and with a deafening cacophony of shouts, the remaining samurai rally and charge, and annihilate the Shadowlands forces._

_Now that we've got quite a few chapters up on here, please take a moment to visit my forum and cast your vote for "Favorite Chapter"... also as an additional twist, please include your favorite music so far! (The music and chapter do not have to match...) Thanks for the feedback, you guys!_

I searched and searched for the music for this chapter (and as those of you following the story have already figured out, I try not to use the same source of music twice). But ironically enough, even though I will be using music from SHOGUN: TOTAL WAR for Chapter Twenty-Four… I realized that MEDIEVAL: TOTAL WAR is a different genre of music entirely. And the minute I opened this track, I had my chapter. I love how these things work sometimes... _Chapter Twenty-Two's music is "European Mobilization 2," from the game MEDIEVAL: TOTAL WAR._

_**Update**: I JUST GOT VOLUME 5 TODAY (yes, a week early)! Holy CRAP! Do you have _any _idea how_ hard _it is watching an entire episode while holding your breath?And all you little devils who've seen the whole thing, you didn't tell_ me _about that one shot of Kambei in the jail cell... shame on you!_

_

* * *

_**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Twenty-Two_

Stance, draw, fire. Stance, draw, fire. Over and over again, until the peasants felt as though their arms could never lift a bow again. Kyuzo relentlessly drilled the farmers day and night, group after group. Old or young, it didn't matter; if he could hold a bow, he was taught to use it.

"This is pointless," Manzo moaned one afternoon during practice. "That target has to be over a hundred feet away, how are we expected to hit it?"

"You are expected to hit it, that is all that matters," came a woman's voice, and the peasants and Kyuzo turned to see Nasami approaching, Kambei and Shichiroji walking with her.

Moving with her distinctive limping stride, she came to a stop beside Kyuzo, taking in the peasants still holding their bows, and then looking over at the targets they aimed at. The peasants looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

Nasami glanced at the fair-haired samurai, bowing. To everyone's surprise, he bowed to her as well. "How's it coming?" she asked.

He shrugged. "They're not samurai."

"I understand that. But other than that?"

"Their minds make them weak."

"I see."

Kyuzo gave her a sidelong glance. "And they think it can't be done."

Nasami turned to him fully, but Kyuzo just stared back her, as implacable as always.

"You might try arranging a more... effective demonstration," Shichiroji murmured thoughtfully. Nasami shot him a look, but Shichiroji looked up at the sky and began to whistle innocently, and her mouth quirked slightly in a smile.

The samuraiko looked over at Manzo. "Take your stance and fire."

Shaking, Manzo did so, but his arrow went only about two-thirds of the way to the target. Unlike before, there was no laughter and good-natured teasing. This time, the peasants were all somber at their poor performance.

"P-please, great samurai... for anyone to hit that, it's impossible..."

"Do it again."

Manzo hesitated and glanced over at her, and she glared at him and shouted, "I _said,_ do it again!"

Startled by her sudden shout, he drew and fired again, and this time he barely hit the target, his arrow hanging slackly.

"Your stance is fine," she said thoughtfully, "but you do not draw your enemy closer to you. Instead, you recoil in fear. That will do you no good when the Nobuseri arrive."

Drawn by the shouts, Shino and a few of the other peasant girls arrived, with Komachi and Okara trailing along.

"Come on, Shino, this is boring," one of the farm girls pleaded. "If we're going to watch the samurai, let's at least go watch the cute one!"

Shino ignored her, her dark eyes fixed on the samuraiko standing beside Kyuzo. She took in every detail, from the scars lining Nasami's face to the swords she wore at her waist. The farm girl was awestruck at how a woman could give such an impression of power and strength that one normally only associated with samurai, and male samurai at that.

Slowly Shino moved closer to hear better.

"Rikichi!" Nasami called, and the farmer stepped forward and bowed.

"Yes, great samurai?"

"Stand beside Manzo." Rikichi looked puzzled, but moved to stand next to the short farmer.

Nasami pointed to the target. "I want you to walk to the target, placing one foot directly in front of the other, and count aloud until you reach it."

"Yes, great samurai," he replied, and did as she bade. Everyone watched as he carefully made his way across the field, counting under his breath, until he reached the target.

He turned back to face her. "Eighty-seven of my footsteps, great samurai," he called to her.

"Good," she replied. "Now, pick any direction but the one you walked, and I want you to move one hundred and seventy-four steps exactly as you did when you walked toward the target."

"Twice as far, great samurai?" Rikichi asked in surprise.

"Yes, twice as far. Start walking and count."

Rikichi did as he was told, picking a different direction and walking.

"That's over fifty yards," Kambei reminded Nasami.

"Good point," Nasami replied. "Rikichi!"

The farmer stopped and looked back.

"Go back to the target, and this time, walk three hundred and forty-eight steps."

Kambei, Kyuzo, Shichiroji and the peasants turned to stare at Nasami, convinced that the samuraiko had lost her mind. Rikichi's mouth was actually hanging open, until Nasami looked at him and silently pointed to the target. He immediately closed his mouth, ran back to the target, and began to count as he walked.

"This should be good," Kyuzo said dryly as he watched the farmer cross the field.

"And exactly what are you planning on doing?" Kambei asked her, but she smiled grimly.

"'The arrow knows the way,'" she replied, stepping over to Manzo and turning her gaze toward Rikichi when he finally stopped. "Now, Manzo, do you see Rikichi standing there?"

"Yes, great samurai," he stammered.

Nasami shot a sidelong glance at Kambei. "And how far away from the target is he?"

"F-four times farther than we are."

"Good. Remember that," she said softly, taking the bow and an arrow away from the farmer. No one made a sound as she walked across the field until she stood beside Rikichi.

One by one, Nasami met Kambei's gaze, then Shichiroji's, then Kyuzo's, and then each of the peasants, stopping at last when her eyes met Shino's. Then she raised her voice until it could be heard clearly by all present. "From this moment on, the word 'impossible' will not be uttered in my hearing."

And in a near-blur, she nocked an arrow, lifted the bow, aimed, drew, and fired. The arrow sliced through the air and slammed into the target.

* * *

"Well," Shichiroji drawled as Nasami left, "I should have expected that from a woman who's competed in the Bowman's Wager." 

"The Bowman's Wager?" Kambei asked curiously.

"It's a competition held among samurai at court each winter to determine who is the finest archer in the Empire," Shichiroji replied. "Being invited to compete is prestigious in and of itself, but actually winning is a high honor."

"A rather archaic practice in an age of firearms."

"Perhaps."

The peasants were still standing there, mouths hanging open, staring at the target in absolute disbelief. Finally Kyuzo rounded them up and began drilling them again. This time, the change in the farmers' attitude was palpable – they couldn't wait to try again.

As motivation, Kyuzo left Nasami's arrow where it had struck the post, and some of the farmers focused themselves by trying to hit her arrow.

"Remarkable," Kambei commented. "Kyuzo teaches, and Nasami motivates. If I'd known it would have had this great an effect, I'd have had them teaching together from the start."

"She is very well-trained," Shichiroji agreed. "I've heard it said that she views weapons as a means of enlightenment, practicing until it becomes second nature and setting her mind free."

"You sound like a philosopher," the white-clad samurai said in amusement, and Shichiroji grinned.

"Speaking of philosophers, we should see how Heihachi's doing. That ballista is certainly going to make the bandits think twice!"

Together they headed toward the clearing where Heihachi and his assigned helpers were working. For a short while, Kambei seemed lost in thought, and his former mate whistled cheerfully to himself as they walked.

"How often did she win?" Kambei asked suddenly.

"What?"

"The Bowman's Wager. How many times did Nasami win?"

Shichiroji shook his head. "Never. But that never stopped her from entering again."

Kambei smiled wryly. "Somehow, I'm not surprised."

* * *

Nasami walked toward the river, her thoughts far away, when she heard someone calling her. 

"Great samurai, wait!" Leaving the other girls behind, Shino approached Nasami, breathless from running to catch up with the samuraiko.

Nasami turned to look at the farm girl, who in a rare moment of daring, met Nasami's gaze directly.

"Please, great samurai, I have to ask... is it true that women really become warriors?" And all of a sudden, the words came out in a rush. "I mean, all my life, the only samurai I've ever seen were men, I had no idea that a woman could carry a sword and fight and be just as strong as a man, and do whatever she wanted without having to slave away on a farm and be chattel for her father to..."

Her voice trailed off in embarrassment as Nasami held up her hand.

"Shino, is it?"

The peasant nodded, and Nasami stepped forward so that she was standing directly in front of her. With one small hand, she reached out and lifted Shino's chin until she could look directly into the younger girl's eyes.

"You have a strong spirit," the samuraiko said softly, releasing her and stepping back. "But courage is not enough to face the bandits."

"Great samurai, I'm begging you," Shino pleaded, "please let me help fight, too! It's not fair that only the men get to fight for Kanna!"

"Why do you want to fight?"

"Because... because a part of me just refuses to accept that the only thing a woman is good for is marriage," Shino said angrily, waving at the rice paddies behind them. "Not when I've seen that a woman can be more. Sometimes I think that's the only reason my father wants to protect his farm, because of me."

"Your dowry?" Nasami asked, and Shino nodded.

Nasami looked thoughtful, and was silent for a long time.

A normal samurai would never teach a peasant how to handle weapons.  
A normal samurai would never work for rice.  
A normal samurai would never even look a peasant in the eyes.  
Nasami, however, was no 'normal' samurai.

She turned and started walking. "Come with me."

Trailing behind her, Shino followed Nasami to the clearing where Heihachi was creating weapons for the villagers.

"Heihachi-_san_!" Nasami called, and the mechanic glanced over at her and waved.

"How's it going, Nasami-_dono_?" he asked cheerfully.

"I was wondering if you might do me a favor."

"Sure, what do you need?"

"I'd like for you to make me two naginata, please."

"Two?"

"Yes, I realize that it's not much time, and they don't have to be perfect, but it's important."

Heihachi looked back at the work that was still waiting to be done, and then back at Nasami and Shino. Then he nodded. "Yeah, I can do it. I'll have them ready for you tomorrow."

Nasami looked concerned. "Don't push yourself, Heihachi, you won't be much good to us if you pass out where you're standing."

"Oh, I'm fine," he said dismissively, but Nasami placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Get some sleep first, then begin work tomorrow." When he opened his mouth to protest, she placed her finger against his lips to silence him. "Go, or I'll knock you out with that wrench in your hand."

Heihachi smiled, and Shino could see just how tired the young samurai really was. "Okay, Nasami-_dono_, you win. But just a short nap, and then I'll get those made for you."

* * *

In the meantime, Nasami paid a visit back to Rikichi's house where she and the other samurai were staying. As Shino watched, the samuraiko began rummaging through her things, and came out with a small pouch. She drew a small seal out of it, along with a piece of paper, an ink stone, and a brush, and began to write. Finally, she was satisfied, and sealed the envelope, stamped with her mark, and handed it to Shino. "Don't lose that. And whatever you do, do _not_ mention it to your father." 

"What is this, great samurai?"

"This is, as we say among the samurai, a favor paid for advance." Nasami pointed to the letter in Shino's hand. "The day of your wedding, arrange for a messenger to send that to Kyuden Shiden'issen."

"I don't understand."

Nasami grinned crookedly. "It's a surprise."

* * *

The mechanic was as good as his word. The following morning, he set to work forging the blades for the weapons, while setting two of the village men to making the shafts. By the end of the afternoon, he presented the samuraiko with the two naginata, who balanced them easily in her hands and smiled. 

"They won't be as good as something that Masamune-_san_ could make," the woodcutter admitted, "but these should at least suit your needs for now."

"Thank you. I'm impressed, Heihachi-_san_. If you can do this quality of work in a day, I wonder what you might manage if you had more time."

"It was nothing, really." He blushed, pleased by her praise, and she laughed. Turning to Shino, she tossed one of the weapons to her, and the peasant girl caught it awkwardly.

"Are you certain you want to do this?" Nasami asked her, meeting her eyes with that intense gaze. "Because if you begin training with me, I will not let you stop until you are ready, or until the Nobuseri arrive. The training that the men are going through with Kyuzo will be nothing in comparison."

"I..." Suddenly Shino felt as though she couldn't breathe. Everything around her seemed to stop, and the only things in the world were herself, the samuraiko, and the naginata she held in her hand.

Nasami moved forward until she was standing so close to Shino that the peasant girl could feel her breath on her face, and no matter how hard she tried, Shino could not look away. "Are you afraid?"

"Yes," the farm girl admitted. But then Shino squared her shoulders, straightened to her full height, and tightened her grip on the naginata, her eyes blazing with a sudden light. "But I will do it anyway."

And Nasami smiled.

* * *

"It is said that to master fighting, one requires 'one hundred days of hand, one thousand days of spear, and ten thousand days of sword.' You, however, do not have that much time," Nasami stated matter-of-factly as she walked with Shino to the sacred grove. "So, we will do what we can in the time that we do have." 

"Yes, great samurai." Shino stopped for a moment. "How does one refer to one's teacher?"

Nasami chuckled. "The term you would use is _sensei_."

"Ohhhh, so that's why that young samurai is always calling that quiet samurai that."

"Well, theirs is not a formally accepted teacher-student relationship, but I understand Katsushiro's reasons. Even though Kambei-_san_ is not actually training him, Katsushiro is learning a great deal from him."

Finally they entered a small clearing in the forest, and Nasami turned to face Shino. "Now, one of the first things to understand - the naginata is not a katana, nor is it a yari or a bo. It is an amalgamation of all of these, combined into a more powerful weapon. It is also traditionally the weapon wielded by women of the samurai class." She took a few steps backward, then began demonstrating its use, twisting and turning the naginata this way and that. "Its primary advantages are its reach, and its momentum."

Shino watched enviously as the samuraiko handled the naginata with skill. "You make that look so easy."

"Oh, it took me a long time to learn, and a former companion of mine was truly gifted with one of these. But he really did lack the finer control of the weapon that could have made him unstoppable. And you've seen Shichiroji-_san_, he's truly a master." Nasami stopped swinging the naginata. "However, what I will be teaching you is strictly for defense, not attack."

"Why not?" Shino protested. "I... I think I could be brave enough to..."

Nasami shook her head. "It has nothing to do with bravery. It is not your role to kill. That task is for samurai, not for farmers." Her dark blue eyes were somber, and Shino fell silent.

For a moment, the samuraiko was quiet, but then she visibly roused herself. "Now, to begin. Hold the naginata in both hands, parallel to the ground, at about head height, like this." She demonstrated, and Shino copied her. "Good. This is the position for when your attacker comes from above." Abruptly, she whirled and brought the naginata down in an overhead slash, and Shino cried out and dropped her weapon, crouching on the ground.

"Pick it up!" the samuraiko growled. Shino scrambled to pick up the weapon, just in time to see Nasami swing the naginata at her again. Once again, she yelped and backed away.

Suddenly Nasami stopped, and leveled the naginata at Shino. "If you back away a third time, there will not be a fourth. Are we clear on that?"

Shino nodded, gulping.

"Then defend yourself!" Nasami shouted, bringing the naginata around again and attacking once more. This time, Shino growled and raised the naginata, and Nasami's blade clanged squarely against the shaft of Shino's weapon. The farm girl gasped at the impact and almost fell, but she kept her footing and held the shaft of the naginata above her, preventing the blow from falling. Nasami smiled grimly, stepped back, then moved suddenly and attacked again in the same manner, until hours later, Shino's arms were trembling from the effort.

"Good," the samuraiko said with approval. "Just so you understand, all other defensive stances are just variations of this one. Your concern is not letting their attacks connect." Suddenly she smiled. "And believe me, your arms will hurt from absorbing the force of their blows, but I'm sure you'd rather have sore arms than a sword stuck in you."

"Yes, I think so, _sensei_," Shino agreed with feeling. She dropped the naginata to the ground and began rubbing her arms, until she saw the samuraiko frown. "Is something wrong, _sensei_?"

Nasami pointed her naginata at the weapon lying on the ground. "If you expect that weapon to save your life, treat it with respect."

The peasant girl nodded, chagrined, and picked up the naginata, then carefully leaned it against a tree.

"Better. Now, go and get something to eat, I know you're hungry. Rest for one hour, then I'll meet you in front of your father's house."

"Why?"

"You have a lot to learn, Shino. If you're not sleeping, eating, or helping the other samurai, you will train with me. Otherwise, you'll never be able to defend yourself when the bandits come."

"Yes, _sensei_." She bowed to Nasami, picked up her naginata, and turned to leave.

"And Shino?"

The peasant turned back to the samuraiko. "Yes, _sensei_?"

"After today, never question an instruction from me again. You do not need to understand why something must be done, you need only do it. If we survive this battle, you can ask your questions then."

Shino shuddered, but kept silent and only bowed, then turned and headed back to the village.

_To be continued_...


	23. Honoring Death, Honoring Life

_Note: My readers have begged, have hoped, have pleaded, so here it is at last... and by the way, this was one of my favorite chapters to write. ('Honoring Death, Honoring Life' was actually begun much earlier when I found the perfect piece of music for the chapter, more on that in a second.) It underscores the similarities between Kambei and Nasami, and yet at the same time, shows just how profound their differences are, especially in how they view Katsushiro. I had toyed with actually including this idea as part of the story, saying to myself, 'Nah, don't do it,' but when I heard the music, I knew I had to do it. _

_The rest of the chapter was inspired by the 'Legend of the Five Rings' session where Nasami was confronted once and for all with the dual heartbreaking truths of her love for someone, and the knowledge that it would never be returned. _

_And after watching Volume 5 on DVD (like 3 times in a row), all I could think was, 'If Kambei manages to survive this, Nasami's going to kill him.' Absolute kudos to ALL of the FUNimation voice actors on this DVD._

_The music for this chapter comes from my pleasantly surprised discovery of the painfully beautiful "The Day, Too Far," from the anime MADLAX. I strongly encourage anyone reading this to take a moment, go to my website, get the Playlist for this story off the Multimedia page, and listen to it while reading this chapter._

**_

* * *

_The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Twenty-Three_

Katsushiro knelt morosely in Rikichi's small house, holding his katana close with his head bowed and his shoulders shaking.

"_A samurai is one who kills_," Kambei had said, and Katsushiro had thought he knew what that meant, but three nights ago, he realized just how wrong he was. It was not the first time he had killed, in all truth, for he had cut down the two assassins who had tried to abduct Kirara in Kogakyo. But that seemed almost surreal, lost in the moment of _satori_ that Nasami had taught him about, so that he could almost imagine that it had never happened.

Almost.

"_You'll need your strength to kill again_." Kambei's words seemed to echo in his head, until he dropped the katana and clapped his hands over his ears.

That was how Nasami found him soon after.

"Katsushiro?" she said softly, and he started and whirled around, his sword in his hand until he saw who it was.

"Oh… Nasami-_dono_. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" he stammered, then he trailed off and turned away again.

"Are you all right?" she asked in concern.

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me."

"Liar," she said quietly, stepping around him to face him. She knelt down and lifted his chin with her small hand, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

He tried desperately to turn his eyes away from hers, but she saw the tears shimmering in them before he could do so, and she sighed deeply.

"Come with me," she told him, rising and moving toward the door.

He remained where he was, staring blankly into space, and Nasami turned and grabbed him by the back of the obi, yanking him backward until he fell over. "Hey, what are you-"

"I said, come with me." Dragging him along, Nasami left the house, Katsushiro cursing and tripping behind her.

"Let me go, Nasami-_dono_! What in the world are you doing?"

"Teaching you a lesson that Kambei has apparently forgotten, and one that I will not let you kill again without learning," she replied without looking back. She may have been shorter than he was, but she was clearly a lot stronger than she looked.

To his profound gratitude, she did not lead him along where the villagers could see, but instead she seemed to be heading for the sacred grove at the edge of the river.

"Please let me go, I can walk on my own!" he pleaded, and she glanced over her shoulder to see if he was being sincere, then she released him.

"Follow me, then. And don't ignore me again."

They walked in silence through the forest until they reached the riverbank. The moonlight sparkled on the water, and the night breeze felt delicious on their skin. Nasami breathed deeply and closed her eyes, tilting her head back to let the moonlight fall on her face.

"What are we doing here, Nasami-_dono_?" Katsushiro whispered.

"You have taken a life. While a samurai is one who brings death, you must also remember what it means to be alive."

To his astonishment and extreme embarrassment, she removed her swords, and began pulling off her clothes. "Wait, great samurai..."

"I'm not about to go into the water fully dressed if I don't have to," she replied practically. But then she saw the blush searing Katsushiro's cheeks at her half-nakedness, and she smiled crookedly.

"Look at me, Katsushiro."

He resolutely kept his eyes away. "No. It's not proper."

"I told you not to ignore me. Don't disobey me, either."

"I can't face you, Nasami-_dono_."

"Are you afraid of me?" she asked quietly, and he shook his head. "I see no lust in your eyes, either, so tell me, Katsushiro, why will you not face me?"

His blush intensified, and suddenly she understood.

"Oh," she said softly."I see… you have never lain with a woman, have you?"

Katsushiro shook his head. "No, great samurai," he whispered miserably.

She stepped closer to him, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I am not trying to seduce you, Katsushiro-_san_. I give you my word, in Amaterasu's name." She placed her other hand over her heart.

Finally he looked at her. "Then why are you doing this?"

"Your soul cries out for absolution. I know this because I have felt the same way in my life. And if Kambei-_san_ will not teach you how to make the burden you carry easier to bear, then I will." She stepped closer to him. "The water knows no guilt, no sorrow. It can wash away the anguish in your soul as it washes away the blood on your hands."

At last, Nasami moved away and finished removing the last of her clothes, so that she stood naked beneath the moonlight. Bowing once to the river, she waded out into it until the water reached above her breasts.

"Come, Katsushiro… the water is waiting," she called quietly.

Still he hesitated, and she sighed, then turned so that her back was to him. "Is this better?"

"Thank you," he said gratefully, finally pulling off his own clothes and setting his katana carefully upon the pile. He stepped into the river, wincing at its chill, until the water came to his stomach.

Nasami turned back to him, the end of her foxtail trailing in the water behind her. Try as he might, he could not help staring at her, but she had been right – there was no desire in his gaze, merely admiration for the samuraiko before him.

She planted her feet carefully on the riverbed, then lifted her hands to the sky. "Blessed Lady Sun, honored Lord Moon, kami of the wind and water, hear our prayer," she called quietly, her voice carried on the wind so that the hair on the back of Katsushiro's neck stood on end. "Cleanse us with your grace and blessings, as we fight in your name and that of honor."

She slowly swam to stand beside Katsushiro, and cupped her hands together. Gathering water within them, she lifted them and gently poured the water over Katsushiro's head. He stared at her, eyes wide in the moonlight. "Grant us peace within our souls, so that we may continue to fight with honor."

Nasami made to fill her hands with water again, but Katsushiro cupped his hands together and filled his with water, then poured the water over the samuraiko's head. "Grant us peace within our souls," he repeated in a hoarse whisper, "so that we may continue to fight with honor."

Together they turned and in the same moment, dove beneath the surface. For a long moment, Katsushiro drifted in the water, feeling its coolness over his entire body as his hair moved around him. He started as a pale shape swam over to him, but then he felt the warmth of Nasami's fingers entwine with his own.

A simple reminder that he was not alone.

And slowly, he felt the ache in his soul began to fade.

Then together, Katsushiro and Nasami broke the surface, gasping for air, holding their hands to the sky. Instinctively, he echoed her words as she called out, "We thank you, Lord Moon and Lady Sun, we thank you, kami of the wind and water. In your name, and in your grace, our souls are cleansed once more."

Then all at once, he was crying, and she was holding him as his tears mingled with the river flowing past them.

* * *

Later that night, Kambei returned to Rikichi's house to find Nasami there, also going through the ritual of purification with her katana. 

"You're up late," he commented, taking in her damp hair and change of clothes. With Rikichi's permission, the samuraiko had been borrowing some of Sanae's clothing, the two women being of nearly the same size, to replace the armor she could no longer wear openly. Although Kambei had to admit that Nasami looked good in armor, seeing her in more feminine clothes was quite attractive.

Nasami said nothing until her katana had been cleansed and sharpened to her satisfaction, then she turned and looked over her shoulder. "No later than the rest of you. And I wanted to do this first." Holding the blade carefully in her right hand with a cloth, she slid the edge of the tang into the pommel with a soft click, then replaced the pins and rewrapped the tsuba. She held the katana upright, her eyes carefully assessing every inch of the sword. Then she rested her cheek against the gleaming blade, her eyes closed, her love of the weapon evident.

Leaning against the doorjamb, Kambei watched as she gently touched the blade, whispering a soft prayer, then sheathing it with a careful movement. She rested the sword in a stand she had brought with her, bowing momentarily to the katana, then she got to her feet and stretched.

"Did you douse yourself as well?" he asked, indicating her wet hair, but she shook her head.

"No. I took Katsushiro down to the river for a while. It seems that he needed some purification as well."

"I wish you had told me," he said ruefully, pulling off his shoes and stepping up onto the platform beside her. "I would have gone with you."

"I think it was better that you weren't there," Nasami replied, seating herself again and drawing her wakizashi as Kambei joined her on the floor. "He was embarrassed enough as it was with me."

"Why?"

She grinned. "Well, let's just say that he's never seen that much of a woman before." Kambei raised his eyebrows, and she laughed.

"He'll get over it," the samurai said finally. "Where is everyone else?"

"Shichiroji is helping Heihachi work on the ballista, Gorobei and Kikuchiyo are taking guard duty, and Kyuzo is still training the farmers."

Nasami carefully dismantled the wakizashi and began sharpening the short sword, softly chanting to herself as she worked. Kambei sat cross-legged beside her, watching her work. It was not often he saw a woman who could care for her swords with such skill.

For a while, the only sounds were the scrapes of the blade against the sharpening stone, and Nasami's quiet chanting over the wakizashi. Occasionally she would pause and hold up the blade, examining it closely in the firelight, and then begin again. Finally, she was satisfied, and gently scooped some water over the blade, then dried it with a soft cloth. The wakizashi shone in the firelight, and Nasami replaced it in its saya beside her katana, bowing again to the weapons.

"You hold your swords in high regard, don't you?" Kambei asked softly.

"Yes," she whispered. "_Mamorimasu_ has never let me down. Ever."

Nasami bowed her head, suddenly exhausted. To her surprise, Kambei moved behind her, removed his gloves, and gently began massaging her shoulders. For a moment she stiffened, but then let herself relax.

"You're always so guarded," he murmured. "Even as emotionally open as you appear, there are always walls around you."

She was silent for a time, but then sighed. "It's easier to keep people away... I've already lost so many who were important to me."

"Such as?"

She drew her knees up to her chest. "My brother..."

Kambei frowned in thought. "He was a duelist, if memory serves. Yoshio, I believe, was his name."

The samuraiko nodded. "My elder by a year. We looked so much alike that many mistook us for twins. When he died, I..." Nasami blinked back tears. "At our _gempukku_ ceremony, we were each gifted with a sword. I was entrusted with _Mamorimasu_." She reached out and reverently touched the pommel of her katana where it rested on its stand

"And your brother was given _Sememasu_," Kambei breathed. "A rare gift, indeed."

"Yoshio was worthy of it. Like myself, he distinguished himself greatly while wielding _Sememasu_. When he was killed during a skirmish with an enemy clan, however, _Sememasu_ was returned to the daimyo of our Clan, to be held in trust until I returned home to claim my brother's sword." She looked over her shoulder at Kambei. "I have not been home in over five years."

"A shame that such a magnificent blade sits in waiting," he mused.

"I've not found another yet worthy of carrying it. As such, I would rather it remain with my daimyo until the time comes when I can reclaim it."

They sat in silence together for a while, listening to the sounds of the night outside and the crackling of the fire. Finally, Kambei's hands stilled against her shoulders, but Nasami reached behind her to take one of his hands in hers. Gently she turned it over, studying the tattoo inked into the back of his hand, and traced it with her fingers.

"It's beautiful," she murmured.

She reached for his other hand and began tracing that tattoo as well.

"Odd... I would never have guessed you were hiding these. But I suppose I'm not the only one with walls, am I?" Then she tilted her head back to look up at him.

And she gasped at the look on Kambei's face.

"I have to leave," he said roughly, getting up and heading toward the door. As he started to walk out, though, Nasami lunged forward and grabbed the back of his robes.

"Wait!" she cried.

"Let me go, Nasami." His voice was hoarse, almost angry, and he refused to look at her.

Nasami went absolutely pale, her hand unconsciously opening and letting him go. "Kambei..."

At the agony in her voice, Kambei turned back to face her, and recoiled at the expression on her face. Her dark blue eyes were filled with a despair and betrayal so great that his heart nearly stopped in his chest.

Nasami's voice shook with a terrible sadness. "If the idea of my affection offends you that greatly, then I will kill that affection as easily as I would kill any enemy." Her mouth twisted in a bitter smile, but the searing pain behind her eyes burned brighter than her anger. "After all, it wouldn't be the first time."

And she was on her feet and out the door before he could stop her, running as though hell itself were after her.

"Nasami, wait!" he called after her, but she vanished into the night.

* * *

Nasami ran almost blindly through the trees, not caring who saw her, running until her knees ached and her breath caught painfully in her chest. When she finally slowed, she realized that she had reached the waterfall, the rushing water sparkling in the moonlight. It felt like it had been years, not hours, since she'd found solace in the water, felt cleansed and whole. 

She sank to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself, as agony consumed her and stole her breath away.

* * *

Kambei searched through the woods, looking for Nasami. She'd disappeared into the darkness, and even with her white hair and pale clothes, he had no idea where she had gone. 

"Kambei-_sama_?"

He turned and saw Shichiroji approaching, a wrench in his hand.

"Listen, Heihachi has this idea for improving the range of the ballista, but we wanted to..." His voice trailed off at the look on the other samurai's face. "Kambei-_sama_, are you all right?"

"Have you seen Nasami?"

Shichiroji thought for a moment. "Actually, I haven't seen her since dinner this evening. Why?"

* * *

Years ago, she had felt her heart break and her hopes shatter when she had stood silently by and lost the only man she had ever loved. It had only been her duty as a samurai that had kept her from sinking into utter despair. 

Her brother had been right, Nasami realized, pain searing through her. While the sorrow she'd endured at the loss of Kuroshin had been terrible, she had still survived it.

But now, without that duty to sustain her, and facing the same heartbreak all over again, the pain was more than she could bear, and her anguished cry filled the night.

* * *

Gorobei and Kikuchiyo heard it, and immediately clapped their hands over their swords. 

"What the...?" Shichiroji whirled around.

Heihachi heard it, and paused while tightening the bolts on the ballista's support beam.

Kyuzo and the farmers heard it, and the farmers dropped their bows in fear, while the blond samurai narrowed his eyes and stared into the woods.

Katsushiro and Kirara heard it, while sitting quietly by the fire with Rikichi and some of the other peasants, and leapt to their feet, startled.

Kambei's first reaction was an overpowering gratitude that Nasami had left her swords behind when she fled. His second was to turn in the direction of the sound and start running.

"Kambei-_sama_, wait!" Shichiroji called, sprinting after him.

A few minutes later, the other five samurai caught up to them in the woods.

"_Sensei_, what was that?" Katsushiro asked, breathless from running, when the cry echoed again, sending chills down their spines.

"Is that... is that Nasami-_dono_?" Heihachi whispered as the sound faded away.

* * *

Nasami knelt with bowed head and hunched shoulders, her body shaking as she cursed herself for a fool. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she could not cry no matter how badly she wanted to. For what felt like forever, she knelt on the rock above the waterfall, pouring out her sorrow until at last she fell silent. 

Slowly, she began to withdraw into herself, willing every last ounce of hope from her soul until there would be nothing left... only emptiness.

Her body grew cold, her hands and feet turned icy from shock, but she never moved.

That was how the samurai found her an hour later.

* * *

"Oh, God," Katsushiro whispered. He had never seen Nasami look like this, not even when on the brink of death. 

Kambei nodded. "All of you, leave now. This is... between Nasami and myself."

Gorobei started to move forward, but Kambei waved him back. "No, Gorobei-_san_."

"But we can't leave her there like that!" Heihachi protested.

Kyuzo just stood there, his gaze moving back and forth from Nasami to Kambei and back.

"You know why she's like this, don't you, Kambei-_sama_?" Shichiroji said softly.

Kambei said nothing, but looked away.

Shichiroji sighed, but first he stepped over to Nasami to place his hand on her shoulder. "If you need us," he said quietly, "we'll be here for you, Nasami."

Heihachi came over to her other side. "It'll be all right, Nasami-_dono_," he murmured.

The two moved away, and Gorobei came forward to stand beside her. "You're not alone, Nasami. Never forget that."

Katsushiro also came near her, and for a moment didn't say anything. Then he lightly touched her hair. "If only I could heal your soul, as you did mine..." he said, his voice full of regret, before walking away.

Kikuchiyo stood awkwardly to one side, then he knelt down beside the samuraiko. "We'll be waiting for you," he said, his voice hoarse, then he left as well.

Kyuzo said nothing, but came to stand behind her and rested his hand on her shoulder for the briefest moment before turning and walking off into the darkness.

Then at last, it was only Kambei and Nasami left by the falls.

For a long, long time, he just stood there, with no idea what to say.

"Please... Nasami, I'm sorry..." he whispered. "Don't... don't do this to yourself."

At first he wasn't certain that she had even heard him. But then she turned away from him, holding herself even tighter. "You need not concern yourself with me," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I do understand, after all. There is another who loves you, one to whom I cannot compare, and who is not bound by the rules of samurai."

"Kirara," he said quietly, and she nodded.

"Yes. She is young, she is beautiful..." Her voice trailed off sadly, and she clenched her fists.

The samurai looked confused, but seeing the guarded tension in Nasami's posture, realization slowly dawned... the realization that she had misunderstood his earlier response of pushing her away. And with it, a silent hope that maybe his dream wasn't as far out of reach as he'd thought.

"But she is not you," Kambei said at last, his voice low, so faint that the samuraiko almost didn't hear him.

Nasami's head came up and she turned to him, her dark blue eyes empty and sad, but behind that sorrow was a faint spark of hope she had never dared to feel again.

Kambei saw that hope, but spread his hands wide in a gesture of defeat. "I have nothing to offer you. No wealth, no lands, no name, no honor..."

Slowly, as though afraid he would leave, she got to her feet, until she was standing in front of him, her head back to look him in the eyes. And yet, she kept her arms wrapped around herself, as though protecting herself against what he might say.

"When I... was in the Village of Respite," she began, "I met a woman... a geisha. Yukino."

Kambei started, and Nasami nodded. "Yes. Shichiroji's lover. She asked how I could not condemn them for their relationship. I told her that 'life is too short not to love.'"

She reached up and gently brushed his long hair back from his face. "So tell me, how can I condemn you... or myself... for doing the same thing?"

The samurai went completely still at her words. "But... why?"

She stepped even closer so that they were barely a handsbreadth apart. "I am weary of being alone. I am weary of sorrow and solitude, and wish to forget the pain of my past."

And then she smiled, not the bitter and twisted smile she'd worn before, but a sad and beautiful smile that took Kambei's breath away. "And for the first time in my life, I dare to believe that someone might truly care for me, as I do for him."

At last, Kambei moved forward to close the last of the distance between them and traced his fingers down her cheek. "But how can you care for a broken and empty shell of a man?"

"I know you don't really believe that, Kambei. If you did, you would have died long ago. I know that in here" - she rested her hand over his heart - "you believe in something, and that is what keeps you going."

"Not until recently," he admitted. "But I did find something to believe in."

"And what is that?" she asked, the moonlight silvering her dark blue eyes.

The samurai gathered her into his arms, rested his cheek against her pale hair, and whispered, "You, _anata_. I believe in you."

_To be continued_...


	24. Fleeting Moments

_Note: As hard as it is, I love writing combat and fight scenes. I have this fascination with kenjutsu and kata because they are so beautiful and yet so absolutely deadly. Not to mention the fact that so many people enjoy watching Kyuzo and Nasami fight, but I wanted to see what happened if they worked together. Out of that was born the Kata of the Dragon's Flight (and yes, it is entirely original... but wouldn't it be cool if it were animated? Oh, don't I wish)._

_This chapter is also a nod to o-Mirai-o (or whatever she's calling herself this week) because she is always begging me to have Kyuzo and Nasami together. Well, Nasami's interests (and plotlines) lie elsewhere, but this seems a good enough way for them to share a chapter. Besides, for those who keep telling me that they want a Kyuzo-Nasami story, go read "In Passion's Silence."_

_For those wanting to know more about the 'Warrior's Creed' that Nasami and Katsushiro are quoting as they train, I will be happy to send the entire thing to you - it really is a beautiful meditation._

The music for this chapter, and especially for their kata, is the opening theme of the game "Shogun: Total War."

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Twenty-Four_

"Dinner time!" Komachi sang out as she, Okara, Tetsu, and Kirara entered Rikichi's house carrying plates of riceballs. Kambei, Gorobei, Katsushiro, Shichiroji, and Kikuchiyo were gathered there, discussing the progress being made on the fortification of the village and the traning of the farmers.

"Sorry for intruding," Tetsu said apologetically, but Gorobei waved away her apology.

"Nonsense, you're a welcome sight!"

"I'll say!" Kikuchiyo said cheerfully, squashing Shichiroji to the floor as he leaped over the former pilot to snatch up two riceballs.

"Only one riceball for each samurai, Kikuchiyo," came Kambei's voice from behind him. "The rest will go to the villagers tonight."

The four women looked up at Kikuchiyo, who growled to himself, but he placed the second riceball back on Komachi's plate, and Kirara giggled.

"We're all soldiers here, so we all eat the same," Gorobei agreed as Komachi and Okara came forward to offer some rice to the samurai.

Shichiroji shook his head as Okara presented the tray to him. "Go ahead, girls, eat up!"

The two girls brightened and bowed slightly. "Thanks, Momotaro, you're great!" Komachi said with a huge grin, and immediately began wolfing down a riceball while Okara blushed and smiled at Shichiroji.

Tetsu glanced around the small house. "If I might ask, where are the others?"

"Heihachi is still working on the ballista," Kambei replied, "and Nasami and Kyuzo are continuing their archery lessons with the farmers, but I expect they'll be here shortly."

"Komachi..." Kirara said gently as her sister happily munched on the rice, carefully placing her own tray on the platform.

Komachi started, nearly choked, then swallowed her food. "Oh, sorry, I forgot!" She walked over to Kikuchiyo, who had just finished scarfing his own riceball, and waved her hand to get his attention. "Okay, Kiku, down please!"

"What, am I your pet now?" he asked as he crouched down, and Komachi clambered up him as though she were climbing a tree.

"Thanks!" When she was settled on his shoulder, she pulled a rolled up piece of fabric from her back and held it up proudly.

"Get ready to be impressed, you guys! Ta-da!" With that, she let the scroll unfold down to the floor to reveal a long length of white fabric with two columns of three circles each, a single triangle beneath the columns, and at the bottom a carefully inked kanji.

The samurai all studied it. "My," Kambei said softly. "A battle flag..."

"Well, you did say this was a war and that Kanna would be our fortress, and we all know every army needs a flag," Kirara said with amusement.

"Why don't you tell us what everything means?" Gorobei asked, studying the flag.

"The character stands for 'rice paddy,'" Komachi said from atop Kikuchiyo's shoulder. "That's the farmers."

"And what about the circles?" Kikuchiyo asked, pointing to one.

"They're the samurai!" she told him, and he frowned.

"But there's only six of them!"

"Well yeah, that's what the triangle is for. That's you, Kiku!"

"What?" he said indignantly.

"Well, you're not really a samurai, but you're not a farmer either," Okara explained. "You're both. Of course, I thought you should be a square." And with that, she gave her usual hissing laugh, and the others joined in.

Then Kambei frowned slightly, looking at the flag again. "However, I do not see a symbol for Nasami-_san_."

Kirara's face fell. "Well, at first, we weren't sure if we should, since nobody's supposed to know she's here..."

But then Komachi grinned. "But then we had an idea." She pointed to the background. "Did you notice the color?"

"It's white, so what?" Kikuchiyo said with faint derision.

"Of course..." Shichiroji murmured. "Most battle flags are colored. And Nasami-_dono,_ of course_, is_ known for her white hair..."

"So you're saying the white represents Nasami?" the big machine samurai asked, a new note of respect in his voice.

"Always there in the background, never noticed, but something that makes the other symbols more noticeable," Gorobei said, approval in his voice. "An excellent idea."

Kambei smiled, and bowed his head slightly to Kirara and the others. "Thank you all for your thoughtfulness."

Kirara bowed back, as did Tetsu and Okara, while Komachi and Kikuchiyo grinned proudly as they held up the official Kanna Village battle flag.

* * *

"It's unbelievable," Mosuke whispered in amazement, looking over the village. 

"I almost don't even recognize it," Gozaku said admiringly.

From where they stood near the bridge, they stared at the rock wall that had been erected on the near side of the bridge, and then down at where Shichiroji had placed several mock ballista armaments in the canyon walls. Flying bravely over the Elder's house was the battle flag that Komachi and the others had designed. In the distance, they could still hear the ringing of hammers on anvils where a group of farmers were forging the parts Heihachi needed for their ballista.

"As I said," Kambei replied with satisfaction, "Kanna has become a fortress. The Nobuseri will not find you the easy target they had thought before."

"That's for certain," Shichiroji said, looking pleased with himself. "Granted, with more time, we could have done more, but this will certainly go a long way toward making their lives difficult."

The farmers were quietly cheering to themselves, and as they headed back to their homes, the chant of "_Kanna, Kanna, Kanna_" came drifting back toward the samurai.

"It's good to see their spirits high," Kambei said quietly. "They'll need it when the time comes."

"Well, I don't know about any of you," Heihachi remarked, rubbing his stomach, "but I'm starving. Anyone else up for stopping for dinner?"

"You and your rice," Shichiroji laughed.

"Everyone fights for something," Heihachi replied with a smile. "Some fight for glory, some fight for honor… personally, I think fighting for rice suits me just fine."

"Sounds good to me," Gorobei answered, leading the way back to Rikichi's house. "Kirara, would you mind finding the others and letting them know to take a break?"

"Of course, great samurai." Kirara bowed and went off to find Katsushiro, Nasami, Kikuchiyo, and Kyuzo.

She soon found three of the four by the stream, where Nasami was teaching Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo some basic techniques with the katana. For a moment, she stopped in the shadow of the trees, watching Nasami gently instruct the two samurai, sometimes demonstrating a particular strike, other times offering a quiet word of advice or quote to illustrate an idea. Kikuchiyo was clearly frustrated with the task of restraining his normally wild attacks, but Katsushiro seemed to be doing well under the samuraiko's instruction.

"I have no armor," Nasami declared, swinging around and blocking Katsushiro's attack.

"I make benevolence and righteousness my armor," the young man replied, twisting his sword around and stepping back.

"I have no castle," the samuraiko called out, bringing the katana around in a graceful arc.

Katsushiro moved to counter her, and replied, "I make immovable-mind my castle."

Nasami dodged his counterattack, and brought her sword up in a defensive stance. "I have no sword," she stated.

"I make absence of self my sword," Katsushiro answered, drawing back as well to imitate her posture.

"Excellent," Nasami said with satisfaction, and Katsushiro bowed, pleasure lighting up his face.

To Kirara's surprise, Shino was also there, practicing with the naginata as Nasami had taught her, and Komachi and Okara watched in fascination as she awkwardly swung the great weapon around.

"Hey, great samurai, I want to learn that, too!" Okara was saying cheerfully, pointing at Shino.

Nasami laughed. "Perhaps when you're older, Okara-_chan_. But for now, my katana is taller than you are." The others laughed with the samuraiko, even Kikuchiyo.

Kirara smiled and bowed. "I'm sorry to disturb you, great samurai, but Kambei-_sama _asked me to tell you that dinner will soon be served."

Nasami stopped and looked over at the girl. "Thank you for letting us know, Kirara."

"Excellent," Kikuchiyo rumbled, and an instant later, his stomach growled loudly. "It's about time!"

"What was that you and Katsushiro were doing, Nasami-_sama_? It sounded like a poem," Kirara said admiringly.

"It's called the Warrior's Creed, written by an anonymous samurai centuries ago," Nasami replied. "I memorized it when I was a child."

The samuraiko looked over at Shino. "Shino, stop and rest for a while, you've been practicing all day."

"Yes, _sensei_," Shino said gratefully, resting the weapon on the ground.

"Have any of you seen Kyuzo-_sama_?" Kirara asked, looking around.

Nasami smiled and pointed. "He's actually standing right behind you."

The water priestess whirled around and saw the red-clad samurai just as he turned and began walking toward Rikichi's small house.

"Why does he always do that?" she said in frustration.

"Do what?" Katsushiro asked as he resheathed his katana and bowed once more to Nasami.

"Sneak around like that."

"It's harder to fight an enemy you don't know is there," Nasami replied, also resheathing her blade and starting down the path back to the village.

* * *

Katsushiro moved to sit beside Nasami, bowl of rice in hand. "Tell me, Nasami-_dono_, how long did it take you to develop your swordsman skills? You fight like nothing I've ever seen before!" 

"Years," she said simply, savoring a sip of sake. "Our family has a saying – 'Learn to do one thing well, and you can do all things well.' Every chance I had, I practiced. When I wasn't sparring with my fellow students or my _sensei_, I was practicing kata. When I wasn't practicing kata, I was studying all the treatises on kenjutsu I could find. My oldest brother used to say that I always had a sword in one hand and a scroll in the other."

"So you grew up in court?" Heihachi asked around a mouthful of rice.

Nasami nodded.

"Wow, it must have been beautiful," Kirara said wistfully. "Surrounded by finery, never having to work, never going hungry…"

"It was a privileged life," Nasami agreed.

"So why become a warrior?" Kikuchiyo asked as Komachi and Okara climbed up to sit on his shoulders. "A woman like you should be married by now, I would think."

"The courtly life is not for me," she replied quietly. She set down the cup, and pushed up her sleeves all the way up to her shoulders to look at the tattoos inked into her arms. Rich swirls of blues and blacks, bright golds and silvers coiled and danced along her forearms. "A cage of gold and jewels is still a cage."

Kambei leaned closer, and peered at the tattoos. On her left arm was a crane with one wing curving around an unsheathed katana - the _mon _of her Clan. On her right arm was a crane with wings outstretched, its clawed feet holding a yari with a snake coiled along it - the _mon _of her school. And above each of the tattoos in elegant calligraphy was Nasami's own addition -the kanji _Kansei_.

Slowly, he smiled to himself, for the kanji meant many things - among them, completion, accomplishment... and perfection.

"So you have brothers and sisters, great samurai?" Shino asked, and the samuraiko nodded.

"Mmm. There were five children. My sister, Meiko, is the oldest, and happily married to a courtier from an allied Clan. Next is my brother Muyuko, an artisan and performer in the Emperor's troupe. Very handsome, and something of a ladies' man like our friend Momotaro here." Everyone laughed at that while Shichiroji grinned at her. "Muyuko taught me a few things about becoming an acrobat when I was a child, and it helped when I fell during practice, I can assure you."

The other samurai laughed. "Come on, Nasami-_dono_, I can't see you being anything other than graceful," Shichiroji said gallantly, but she shook her head.

"You're wrong. Even though my older sister and I both learned the courtly dances expected of samurai women, Meiko was always better than I." She smiled ruefully. "I also have a younger brother, Chisora. He is studying the ways of the spirit, and has joined the ranks of the priesthood."

"That's four of you," Gorobei pointed out. "And the fifth?"

The samuraiko's smile turned sad. "My elder brother, Yoshio. Our parents called us 'twins separated by birth.' He was a duelist of exceptional caliber, and he taught me a great deal. But he was killed in a skirmish with an enemy clan by a woman who had held a grudge against me since I was fifteen. She couldn't get to me... so she went after him instead."

After dinner, Shichiroji brought out his shamisen and tuned it. He began a lively tune, and Heihachi immediately got to his feet and began to dance, several of the peasants getting up along with him, followed by a chuckling Gorobei.

Laughing, Kirara pulled a startled Katsushiro to his feet and led him to where the others were dancing. Komachi and Okara bullied Kikuchiyo into joining them.

"Come on, Nasami-_dono_, join them!" Shichiroji called cheerfully.

The samuraiko shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't dance."

"But why not?" Komachi asked, and Nasami touched both her knees.

"Being lame makes the grace required for dancing a bit difficult. Don't mind me, I'll watch for a while."

Kambei studied the samuraiko thoughtfully as she watched the others dance. It was rare to see something she could not do well, or even do at all, and the wistful smile on her face made his breath catch.

After an hour, though, Heihachi came over and took her by the hands, but she dug in her heels.

"No, Heihachi-_san_! Let go!"

"How come everyone else gets to have fun but you?" he chided.

"Kyuzo-_sama_'s not dancing either, in case you hadn't noticed," she replied. "Neither is Kambei-_san_. Go bother one of them."

"But you're prettier than they are," Gorobei teased.

"No, I'll just make a fool of myself."

"Then perform a kata," Kambei suggested. "I've seen you practicing them, and you're more agile than you give yourself credit for."

Nasami looked thoughtful.

"Which one?" she asked finally.

To everyone's surprise, Kyuzo looked over at her and asked, "The Dragon's Flight?"

"I haven't done it in years," the samuraiko admitted. "It really is best with a partner, and not that many samurai I've encountered know the kata."

To her astonishment, the red-clad samurai got to his feet and moved toward the fire, then turned and held his hand out to her.

"Are you sure about this?" Nasami asked, looking alarmed. "I mean, if I do this wrong, I could very easily kill you by mistake."

"You won't," was all Kyuzo said, so she got up as well.

"I'll need a second sword," she asked the other samurai, and Kambei drew his own katana and handed it to her. For a moment, she stood there and lightly caressed the blade, then smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said softly. "I will try to do it honor."

"You honor it just by wielding it," he said so quietly that she was the only one who heard him, and she bowed. Then she moved to stand back to back with Kyuzo.

Although he was taller than she by several inches, she stood so proudly that they almost looked the same height. His coat and her robes rustled lightly in the evening breeze, their shadows in the firelight seemed to twist and writhe.

"What is the Dragon's Flight?" Rikichi asked, looking at Kambei.

"It's a kata taught by certain kenjutsu schools to train samurai in working with a partner. It's not very well-known, as few schools teach the use of two swords as general practice. The kata can be extremely dangerous unless both samurai are very skilled with the blade."

"Where does it get the name?" Katsushiro wondered aloud.

"Watch, and you'll see."

Then by some unspoken signal, in the same instant, Kyuzo and Nasami moved.

* * *

Both samurai dropped into a low crouch, heads bowed, backs pressed against one another, one leg drawn close, the other extended. Very slowly, they drew their swords, keeping their arms outstretched and the swords as low to the ground as possible without letting them touch the earth. Then they twisted slightly, as though trying to look over their left shoulders while keeping their heads lowered. 

Then slowly, through the kata, they began to tell the tale of a dragon.

They drew the swords toward themselves while straightening slightly, tilting their heads back to look at the sky above. In a lazy, graceful arc, Nasami and Kyuzo moved the blades over the ground, then, leaning against each other for balance, they rose to their feet, swaying like flowers in the breeze, as the dragon awoke and flew into the sky.

First one pair of swords was lifted toward the sky, the other following it like birds in flight, before coming down again and then rising once more, as the dragon stretched and danced among the clouds. Kyuzo took a single step backward and to the left, Nasami following his movement so that now they faced in the opposite direction from where they'd started. Both lunged forward, keeping their left feet still touching behind them, swinging both swords in their hands upward. Nasami kept the katana in her right hand aloft, Kyuzo his left, and each samurai brought the other down and backward, so that the blades crossed behind them.

All at once, Kyuzo stepped back and whirled around, thrusting his blades just over Nasami's shoulders so that he seemed to be looming over her just as she brought the katana in her left hand forward once more.

The peasants let out a collective startled cry, not at all expecting the sudden movement of the dragon lunging at its prey, baring its teeth, but the samuraiko did not flinch.

His chest against her back, Kyuzo followed her movement as she swayed backward and then forward again, his swords paralleling hers as they traced twisting movements in the air.

Slowly, Nasami lowered herself into a crouch, Kyuzo following her movements like a shadow. They took a low, stealthy step forward, pulling their swords back toward their bodies while keeping them pointed ahead. They twisted right, then left, moving in perfect unison. No matter how quickly she moved, he was always there behind her, stalking her as the dragon sinuously wove its way through the clouds.

Abruptly, both whirled around, Kyuzo twisting his grip on his swords so quickly that it looked like he had dropped them and then snatched them out of the air again, Nasami doing the same, so that now she was behind him, her chest to his back. She thrust both katanas forward beneath his outstretched arms just as he lunged forward, the very image of the dragon breathing fire. The fair-haired samurai swept his katanas around in a series of whirling, graceful spirals, executing an intricate series of steps, Nasami matching him move for move from behind, moving as though to a song that they alone could hear.

Kirara and the others gasped, for Nasami's swords were moving dangerously close to Kyuzo, and one false move could injure or even kill Kyuzo. But the two samurai never stopped, never slowed, and twisted and whirled together in their graceful, deadly dance.

Then Kyuzo turned again, lifing both swords to point at the sky, but Nasami did not turn away. Instead, she lowered her katanas to point to the ground, and now they directly faced one another, not even a handspan apart, as the dragon encountered another of its kind. He brought his swords down, she brought hers up, his arms just over her shoulders, hers passing his ribcage.

And samurai and peasants alike watched in astonishment as the two samurai took turns leading, the other copying the motions exactly but in reverse. Nasami took two steps forward and leaned toward Kyuzo, one sword thrust forward, the other poised over her head as though prepared to throw. At the same time, the blond samurai took two steps back, leaned backward, thrust one of his swords forward past Nasami's body, and twisted his other katana to point behind him just as Nasami's did.

Kyuzo straightened, as did the samuraiko, then he suddenly dropped to one knee and arced both his swords forward and down toward Nasami. In the same breath, she dropped to her knees, moved both swords so that her hands were just behind Kyuzo, and lifted them so that they rose behind him, the katanas following the curve of his body.

Slowly, Nasami arched herself upright again, Kyuzo following her motion, until both were on their feet again. With infinite care, they placed their feet so that they circled one another, always remaining a breath apart, always moving like mirror images of one another, evocative of the dragons circling one another among the stars. Their swords came within inches of the other's body, but not once did either flinch or hesitate.

Kyuzo and Nasami never took their eyes from one another, but stared with absolute focus as their four swords seemed to move with a life of their own, their bodies swaying in rhythm.

Then, at last, both slowly lowered themselves to the ground, one knee forward, the other leg extended behind them, their swords low and parallel to the ground, but this time facing each other and so close that his breath rustled her hair. Finally, both bowed their heads so that her forehead rested on his shoulder, while his rested on hers, and the dragon was again at peace.

For a long time, no one said a word, and then the peasants were on their feet, cheering and shouting their appreciation. The samurai joined in the applause, equally impressed by their rendition of the kata.

"That was absolutely amazing..." Katsushiro whispered, his green eyes huge in his face as Nasami and Kyuzo rose and resheathed their swords.

"Unbelievable," Gorobei agreed, applauding the two samurai's performance.

"I thought I knew what you samurai could do after watching all of you fight outside the caverns, but this..." Rikichi breathed. "I've never seen anything like it."

"What I want to know," Shichiroji said in an undertone to Kambei, "is who taught her that kata. Unless I miss my guess, that's associated with a rival school from hers."

Kambei frowned. Shichiroji was right - most kenjutsu schools religiously guarded their secrets, including their kata. Someone from that school owed Nasami or her family a significant favor... or else had given her the training as a gift that went beyond price. Granted, given her swordsmanship talents, at the very least, she could do the kata honor. But who could she have known that would have studied the same technique as Kyuzo?

Nasami moved back over to Kambei, handing back his katana with a bow.

He resheathed the blade at his side, but then he reached out, gently took her by the wrist, and pushed one sleeve up to reveal the kanji tattooed there.

"_Kansei_, indeed," he murmured, and Nasami blushed from the compliment.

Then she turned to face Kyuzo, and the two samurai bowed to one another.

"Thank you, Kyuzo-_sama_," she said softly. "It was indeed an honor."

"For me as well," he replied, then he turned away.

For a moment, he paused and was silent, then he glanced back at her. "Kuroshin would be proud of you."

And as Nasami went pale, he walked off into the darkness, leaving her standing by the fire watching him go.

_To be continued..._


	25. A Time For War

_Note: Okay, it's been two weeks since I wrote for SAMURAI 7. Most of my attention was focused on getting my book 'And the Greatest of These' up onto the FF site, but now with seventeen chapters of THAT up, I can go back to writing this. I wanted one last quiet scene before all hell breaks loose, and I like to think that I got it. But man, writing battles is a hassle. I just hope I got it right. __I love the opening moves of the war… all of a sudden, it all comes together and just sweeps you along. I was on my feet cheering at my TV when that ballista was fired, let me tell you, just laughing out loud._

_(And I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the updated stats - 'The Sword of the Soul' was at around 1000 hits as of Chapter Sixteen. As of Chapter Twenty-Five, it has broken 2500+... oh my God...)_

_The music for Chapter Twenty-Five is the track "Revenge," from the movie BRAVEHEART. __Thanks for being patient._

_**UPDATE**: I just designed something I think is uber-cool - go check out the entry of my LiveJournal called "_Woot! Learn something new every day!" _to see the 'cover' I did (with some help) for 'The Sword of the Soul'! Isn't it awesome? Go me!_

_And someone just sent me the link for the 'new' opening credits of SAMURAI 7 - the opening song is "Justice" by Coming Century? When did this change? And if there's a God, PLEASE let these be on the upcoming DVD! That shot of Kambei with the bow? Oh my God, does he look **HOT**!_

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Twenty-Five_

Heading toward the Mikumari house, Nasami and Shino walked through the fog that had settled over Kanna Village that morning, the peasant girl in high spirits, the samuraiko more somber.

"You look worried, _sensei_," Shino said at length, looking at Nasami. "Is something the matter?"

Nasami smiled slightly. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

Nasami waved one hand, lightly dispelling the fog in front of them. "Fog is a most useful ally, but also a dangerous enemy. Every advantage that it extends to you, it also offers to your foe."

Shino thought about that, but had never really considered the mist around them in such fashion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for one thing…" Without a word, Nasami took a few steps away from Shino into the fog, moving on silent feet, and the farm girl stared as the samuraiko seemed to vanish.

"Great samurai?" She took a few hesitant steps forward, looking left and right. "_Sensei_? Where are you?"

"Right here," came a whisper from just behind her, and Shino nearly leapt out of her skin as she whirled around as Nasami laughed.

"Now do you understand? You cannot fight the enemy you cannot see. Or hear, for that matter." Shino realized that the samuraiko was right – the fog seemed to muffle much of the sound that normally filled the forest in the morning. "But this is fine – the bandits will not know that you and the other farmers understand the value of mist. And that ignorance will cost them dearly."

"Yes, _sensei_."

Then for a moment, Nasami stood quietly, her eyes closed, drawing in slow, deep breaths, then she opened her eyes with a long, soft sigh. And without another word, she began walking along once again, Shino trailing behind her.

"Good morning, Nasami-_dono_, and to you, Shino," the two women heard, and Nasami saw Katsushiro standing behind a tree nearby, Komachi and Okara with him.

"Good morning, Katsushiro," Nasami returned, smiling and nodding to the two girls. "Why are you hiding here in the trees?"

"We're on a covert operation!" Komachi piped up cheerfully, pointing further down the road where Kirara and Kambei were talking softly.

"Is that so?" Nasami said dryly. "You do realize that eavesdropping is rude, right?"

Katsushiro blushed slightly.

The samuraiko glanced from him to Kambei and Kirara, then back again. "Let me guess… they're talking about you."

The young samurai nodded. "_Sensei_ is concerned about… about how I will react once in battle again. Now that I've taken a life." Then he glanced after the couple walking away down the road. "But… Lady Kirara… she told sensei that 'if any blood should fall on me, she would be the one to clean it off.'"

Then he started slightly as Nasami's eyes grew cold. "Nasami-_dono_… what's the matter?"

Nasami didn't reply, and Komachi and Okara watched her with wide eyes as she stared after Kirara, one hand tightening on the pommel of the katana at her waist.

"_Sensei_?" Shino said softly, afraid of angering the samuraiko, but then Nasami looked back at them, the chill in her eyes fading.

"Do not worry about me," Nasami said at last, and the other four let out breaths that they hadn't known they were holding.

Abruptly she lifted her head, like an animal scenting something on the air. "Something is coming…" she whispered. "Katsushiro, take the girls back to the Mikumari's house, and make sure they stay there. Shino, come with me."

"Yes, _sensei_," Shino said with a small bow, and the two women vanished into the fog.

"Why do I always get left behind?" Katsushiro asked in frustration.

* * *

Arrows raced through the air to strike their targets solidly, and the farmers cheered and clapped for themselves… or most of them did. 

"It happened again," Yohei moaned.

"Most of us are getting pretty good, but not you, Yohei," Gonzo said cheerfully.

"Just ignore him," Gozaku said consolingly, proud of his own greatly improved shooting. "It was a pretty decent shot for having your eyes closed the whole time!"

Yohei turned to him in frustration, holding up the bow in his hand. "It's not my fault, it's the bow!"

"Yeah, sure, blame the equipment," Gonzo laughed.

"That's not fair!" Yohei wailed. "I work twice as hard as the rest of you guys!"

All of the peasants laughed at this, until Kyuzo glanced down at his feet, then abruptly dropped to the ground and pressed his ear against the soil. The farmers' laughter stopped in an instant as they stared at the samurai lying facedown on the ground.

"Great samurai?" Gozaku said softly, but Kyuzo held up a hand to silence him.

He was listening to the earth, trying to track what had set the soles of his feet tingling, even through his sandals. As he pressed his cheek more firmly against the ground, he felt it, the barest of tremors moving beneath the soil.

"It's time," he said finally, and the farmers gasped.

* * *

"It's quiet… too quiet." 

Gorobei was kneeling inside one of the cutaway caverns in the mesa beneath Kanna, binoculars raised to his eyes as he scanned the countryside. He breathed in deeply once or twice, then grinned.

"They can hide the sound, but not the smell."

Shichiroji turned from where he was checked the bows that he and Nasami had stashed in the cavern a few days earlier. "What's that mean?"

Gorobei chuckled. "It means that this evening's program has just been altered."

Shichiroji came to stand beside him and picked up the binoculars. Far off in the distance, he saw two enormous shapes, and a mass of dark grey and black shifting and moving along beneath it like a malevolent living shadow.

Two of the enormous bandit transport ships, and several divisions of Yakan soldiers.

Long used to assessing distance from his days as a pilot, Shichiroji mentally tagged a few distance markers, sighted along them, and nodded. "Oh, yeah. About seven or eight miles off."

And with that, Gorobei picked up a metal pipe and a nearby stick, and began banging one against the other with the stick braced against the stone of the cavern floor. The sound reverberated around the cavern, and against the canyon walls, until it began to echo all the way across Kanna Village.

Kikuchiyo and Rikichi heard it where they had been practicing their sword technique.

Kirara and Kambei heard it as they walked along the path from the Mikumari house back to Rikichi's.

Katsushiro, Okara, and Komachi heard it on their way to Komachi's house.

Nasami and Shino heard it, and began running toward the bridge.

The Elder heard it where he had been meditating in front of his family shrine. "It begins…"

Heihachi heard it where he sat astride the ballista tightening a winch, and he glanced down at the crew that had been assigned to him. "Okay, that looks good!" he shouted. "Let's get to our battle stations!"

The farmers stopped their work and immediately moved to their assigned locations as they had been drilled on for the last several days.

Preparation time was over.

* * *

"I want you two to stay here, or Nasami-dono will have my head," Katsushiro warned Komachi and Okara as he left them at the Mikumari home. "Just this once, please do as I say, all right?" 

"We will, Katsu," Okara said seriously, and Komachi nodded, her eyes wide in her face.

"Good girls. The other women and children will be here any moment. I'm going to find sensei." Katsushiro took off running down the path toward the village. A few minutes later, he passed Kirara on her way back to her house.

"_Sensei_?"

"He's heading for the clearing in the center of the village," Kirara told him, and he thanked her with a nod. "Katsushiro, wait!"

He stopped running long enough to look back at her. "Yes?"

"Be careful," she whispered.

"I will," he promised, and he disappeared into the trees.

He reached the clearing just as Kambei was directing the farmers as they'd discussed days earlier. "Get the women and children to the Mikumari home immediately!" he shouted. "I want all of them off the street when the fighting begins!"

Farmers bid their wives and family goodbye as the women and children began heading toward the home of the water priestess. Nasami and Shino arrived a few moments later, the samuraiko giving orders to Shino as she approached.

"Shino, I want you to escort them," Nasami was saying. "Keep the women moving, the children quiet, and your weapon close, but don't use it unless you have to. I don't want the other women and children frightened at the idea that the battle could come that close."

"Yes, _sensei_," Shino said, swallowing hard, but her hand tightened around the naginata shaft and she bowed once to the samurai. Then she turned and joined the moving stream of women and children.

"Will she be up to the task?" Kambei asked the samuraiko.

"We'll find out, won't we?" she replied blithely, shouldering her own naginata.

Kambei nodded, then glanced back at Katsushiro. "Katsushiro, come with me. Nasami-_san_, you know your place."

Without another word, the samuraiko vanished into the mist again, heading for the bridge. For a long moment, Kambei watched her go, then he offered up a silent prayer, and went to meet Heihachi.

* * *

"HEAVE! HEAVE!" Heihachi was yelling, urging his crew as they and the pack animals dragged the enormous ballista forward. Carefully, they maneuvered the huge weapon into place based on the calculations the mechanic had done days before. 

Not too far away, Kikuchiyo and Rikichi emerged from the trees to see the bandit force approaching.

"Oh, yeah, they're here!" Kikuchiyo cheered. "The bandits are finally here for their ass-beating! Come on, suckers!" Then he stopped as the sheer size of the Nobuseri group approaching became clearer. "Why are there so many of them?" he wondered aloud.

Rikichi swallowed. "There are a lot more of them than we thought."

The rest of the farmers were thinking the same thing as they stood lined up at the wall, their bows in their hands.

Mosuke, arriving slightly later than the rest, stopped to catch his breath. "How's it looking out there?"

The others stood in shock, so he turned as well, and let out a yelp of disbelief. Kyuzo stood by them impassively, staring at the approaching Nobuseri force with quiet patience… and contempt.

Until he saw Manzo take a step forward in horror.

"We _did_ make the bandits angry, they're going to kill us!" he wailed. "I just know it!"

"Manzo, how can you say that after all our work?" Gozaku protested, but Manzo turned and waved a hand at the bandits.

"Are you kidding me? Just look how many there are! There's no way we can beat all of them, no matter what the samurai have taught us!" He looked pleadingly at the others. "Maybe we should go beg for mercy now!"

"And you think they'll forgive us after we've been training so long to defeat them?" Yohei said in disbelief. He raised a fist in defiance. "We have to make sure they aren't alive to punish us later!"

Just then, Kambei and the other samurai arrived, all save Heihachi and Kikuchiyo. Kyuzo turned to look behind him, then back out at the approaching bandits, as Kambei studied the enemy force.

"There's more than expected, but our mission is the same." With that, the samurai headed off toward the ballista to meet Heihachi and Kikuchiyo.

"_Sensei_? What about Nasami-_dono_?"

"She's where she needs to be. Now we must do the same," Kambei said, his voice quiet but firm.

* * *

Up at the ballista, Heihachi's team was fastening the ballista down as the samurai approached. 

"You've done good work!" Kambei called up to Heihachi, who easily slid down from the crossbeam to grin at the group.

"Hey, did anyone order some bandits? Because there's a whole army of them headed this way!" he announced cheerfully.

"You worried about them?" Kambei asked dryly, and Heihachi winked.

"Why should I be? I've got nothing to lose!" Then he glanced around. "Hey, by the way, have you seen Kikuchiyo around?" He and the big machine samurai had already worked out how to nock the enormous trunk that armed the ballista, but Kikuchiyo had yet to arrive.

"I'm right here!" came Kikuchiyo's voice, and the group turned to see him and Rikichi come sprinting out of the trees. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"You know your place," Kambei ordered quietly, and Kikuchiyo started heading down the length of the ballista toward the winch.

"Right, boss!"

Rikichi began heading for the wall where the other farmers waited, but Kambei stopped him. "Rikichi!"

The young farmer stopped and turned to see Kambei take a few steps forward, a grim smile on his face that reminded him eerily of Nasami. "You will fire it."

"I-I will?"

The older samurai nodded. "You wanted revenge… didn't you?" he asked, his voice soft, but full of meaning.

Heihachi jumped down from the ballista to land behind Kambei. "Don't worry, it's easy, all you have to do is knock off the clasp. It's just like hitting a nail."

For a long moment, Rikichi stood silent, his hands clenched into fists. Images were flashing through his mind in quick succession – working in the rice fields, watching Sanae taken by the bandits, cowering as the Nobuseri took the rice, searching for so long in Kougakyo… and screaming defiantly as a Nobuseri passed within bowshot in the Shikimoribito caverns.

Yes, he wanted revenge.

His eyes met Kambei's, and he nodded.

And Kambei smiled.

Then the samurai turned and shouted, "EVERYONE! MAN YOUR STATIONS!"

The order was repeated until it reached the farmers down by the wall, who took up their stance with the bow just as they had been taught. Along the cliff face, a group of peasants fastened down the enormous clasps of the chains and ropes that would anchor the ballista in place.

"Move, move, clear a path!" Kikuchiyo yelled as he and Rikichi ran toward the winch. "The trigger men are coming through!" The peasants scattered out of their way, and Kikuchiyo took up his position by the crank. Heihachi climbed back up onto the ballista with Gorobei's binoculars and began sighting to get the range, then he called, "Load the ballista!" Three of the peasants standing along the ballista passed the order back until it reached Kikuchiyo, who waved and called, "I'm on it!"

With a loud bang and a cloud of steam, he began winding the cable, which slid along the length of the tree trunk. The metal of the crossbeam groaned as the cable tightened, drawing it back farther and farther as the samurai watched.

But down by the rock wall, Manzo watched in horror as the bandits moved roughshod right over his home, destroying it.

"That was my house!" he whimpered, then all at once he was yelling. "That's my house!" he shrieked, half-climbing over the wall with a mad idea to stop them, but Yohei and Gozaku stopped him.

"We'll build you a new one, okay?" Gozaku pleaded, pulling him back down, but Manzo crouched down and began to sob, tears streaming down his face.

* * *

Around and around went the crack, back went the cable, back went the crossbeam until it looked so tightly wound that the slightest jarring would snap it, and finally Heihachi yelled, "That's good, STOP!" 

The call went back, and Kikuchiyo stopped winding, collapsing to the ground with a grunt as his chest heaved. The clasp slid home into the gears with a loud 'thunk' as the cable slid neatly into the notch hewn at the base of the tree trunk.

Heihachi looked down at Kambei, but raised his voice so that all present could hear him. "Ballista armed, and ready to fire!"

Rikichi came to stand beside Kikuchiyo, a large hammer in his hand. All of his attention was on the clasp – a single piece of metal that spelled revenge against the bandits, for Kanna… and for Sanae.

The farmers stood behind the rock wall, bows at the ready.

Heihachi's 'engineering' crew stood at the cliff face, hammers over their shoulders, prepared to strike.

The samurai stood beside the ballista, staring implacably out at the Nobuseri.

Nasami stood with her bow in her hand, her eyes closed in meditation.

Heihachi stood just behind the crossbeam, like a general surveying the battlefield.

And Kikuchiyo sat beside Rikichi, his eyes glowing, eager for battle. "Come on," he dared softly.

"This is no idle threat," came the booming voice of the Nobuseri leader, as though in response to Kikuchiyo's dare. "Drop your weapons and cross the bridge one at a time."

Kambei lifted his head, and though his voice was soft, it carried through the air like the clear ringing of a bell.

"Fire."

Shichiroji turned and shouted the command. "Fire!"

Another peasant took up the cry. "Fire!"

And with a scream that rivaled the one he'd cried in the Guardians' caves, Rikichi swung the hammer down with all of his might.

* * *

Slowly at first, so slowly that some watching began to doubt if it was even moving, the gears of the winch began to turn, and the crossbeam began to exert its pull forward once more. 

Then Heihachi's team struck as one, slamming their hammers into the posts driven into the cliff face, which crumbled beneath their strike, and the boulders that rested on the tenuous ground dropped into the canyon, pulling the enormous bolt forward even faster.

Smoke rose from where it slid along the length of the beam as it gained in speed until it was moving even faster than the freight elevator train in Kougakyo, and it just kept getting faster. It roared past the farmers standing on the ground, raced past the team that had fastened the ballista down, swept past Heihachi who seemed oblivious to its passage, until it practically leapt into the sky.

"There it goes!" Kikuchiyo crowed, getting to his feet.

From where she stood, Nasami looked up, and saw the huge ballista bolt sweep across the sky, and smiled to herself.

Down by the rock wall, Manzo and the other farmers let out cries of amazement as it shot overhead, arcing into the air up over the canyon. For a single instant, every farmer there wondered if the bolt would ever come back down, and then slowly, its trajectory changed.

On the other side of the canyon, where they swarmed all over the plains, the Yakan soldiers and the Raiden units stared up at the sky in absolute disbelief. They had come expecting to fight farmers, expecting only token resistance even from the samurai, but they were clearly not expecting _this_.

But before they could react, the bolt neatly arced downward, moving straight toward its intended target.

One of the Nobuseri transport ships.

And watching from the ballista crossbeam, Heihachi grinned.

With uncanny accuracy, the ballista bolt slammed straight into one of the ports of the Nobuseri ship, plowing through it as though the ship were nothing more than an origami figure, and driving it to the ground with a deafening crash.

The Yakan soldiers were frozen in disbelief.

The Raiden soldiers stared at their fallen ship.

By the rock wall, the farmers were all standing with their mouths open.

And above the chaos, one sound became clearer than the rest.

The sound of a woman laughing.

_To be continued_…


	26. This Far and No Farther

_Note: Like the quote in the summary goes, as I wrote this scene, I couldn't help but think of the Battle of Agincourt in HENRY V (for a wonderful visual retelling of this, go watch the Kenneth Branagh film). But, like in that famous battle, it's amazing what a good field position and archery can do. I was rooting for the farmers and the samurai all the way through. However, while I was watching it, all I could think was, "How the hell am I going to write Nasami in here?" I blurted this out the other day just as John walked through the living room, and he stopped to watch it for a bit. Then he said, "All actions in war are honorable," and off he went into the kitchen, leaving me sitting on the living room floor laughing before I went into the study to start writing. _

And while I haven't gotten much done on this story lately... for those who check out my LiveJournal (you can find more on my profile), there's LOTS of SAMURAI 7 goodness on there! Quite a few stories got written for the communities on there, AND I'm working on two desktop pictures for 'The Sword of the Soul' (they look so frickin' COOL!)!

The music for this chapter came as a much later inspiration... but you have to admit, the song "O Fortuna" from CARMINA BURANA works really well here!

**Update**: IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE! Yes, the SAMURAI 7 score arrived today, all 19 tracks of it, ohthankyouthankyouthankyou! Check out my LiveJournal for more on the CD!

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Twenty-Six_

The farmers stood in shock, and then, one by one, they began to laugh and cheer, shouting loudly enough to startle the birds from the trees.

"YEAH, YOU HAD THAT ONE COMING!" Kikuchiyo bellowed, laughing aloud with the famers.

Several of them began to chant, "_Kanna, Kanna, Kanna_," as they watched the wrecked Nobuseri ship smolder and burn, pinned to the ground by the ballista bolt like some bizarre butterfly in a collection.

"Wow, they did it!" Komachi cheered from the tree branch she had scaled to watch the battle.

"Awesome!" Okara agreed, perched on the opposite branch. Not for the first time did she wish she was old enough to fight with the others, but as she had to admit, someone had to stand back and provide the commentary.

"Girls!"

Both girls started and turned to look down, and saw Kirara standing on the path, glaring up at them. "What are you doing up there? Come inside!" she scolded, gesturing them down out of the tree.

"But Sis," Komachi wailed, "we wanna watch!" She resolutely turned back to look at the battle again with a pout. After going all the way to Kougakyo and back to bring samurai, there was no way she was going to miss all the fun. And she just _knew_ that if she left Kikuchiyo alone, he was going to get himself into trouble _again_.

"It's a war," Kirara said firmly, and then her voice dropped, trying not to think about what it might do to her little sister when the war actually came to Kanna itself. "And the war has only just begun."

But even as the peasants dropped their bows and laughed at seeing the Nobuseri wounded so, the samurai stood silently and watched, watched how the Nobuseri began to regroup, watched how they prepared to deploy the Yakan soldiers. And they waited.

Moments later, Mosuke shouted, "Wait, look over there!" The peasants all turned to look and saw that the Yakan soldiers were fast approaching, charging in a mass toward the bridge that led to Kanna. All of them had their swords out, intent on wiping out the peasants for their insolence.

The farmers' courage vanished like morning mist as years of bending to Nobuseri rule nearly forced them back from the wall.

"Th-they're coming!" Manzo shouted in panic, and nearly turned to flee, but then the samurai were there, all holding bows in their hands.

"Stay calm!" Kambei ordered. "All archers, ready your bows!"

Instinctively, the peasants moved toward the rock wall as they had been taught, drawing strength from the samurai that stood shoulder to shoulder with them against the enemy. Kambei, Gorobei, Katsushiro, Shichiroji, and Kyuzo stood along with the peasants, holding their bows with the ease of years of use, their eyes automatically gauging distance, their fingers already imagining the drawing of the bowstrings, the release of arrows.

Days and nights of constant drilling with Kyuzo and Nasami now bore fruit, for the farmers stood tall, bows drawn and arrows nocked. On the rock wall in front of them were several bowls of the strange substance that Nasami and Shichiroji had made for them, and stuck into the ground were dozens of torches.

But Katsushiro looked around, puzzled, for there was one person not present that he would have imagined above all else would be here, but there was no longer any time to ask questions.

Kikuchiyo and Rikichi came running to the front of the ballista where Heihachi and his engineering team stood. "Here they come! This is going to be great!" the big machine samurai crowed. Rikichi only gulped, wishing he could share the samurai's confidence. It was one thing to strike at the Nobuseri from a distance, even if it was with a ballista. It was another thing entirely to engage the enemy up close.

The first wave of Yakan soldiers reached the bridge, knocking down the sign and advanced across toward the rock wall with single-minded focus.

Kambei leaned down, touched his arrowhead to the flammable powder, ignited it, and drew back on the bow.

"Fire at will," he ordered, his voice cold, and with that, he released the arrow straight at the advanced Yakan soldiers. The other samurai did the same, and then the farmers followed their example. A hail of arrows slammed into the Yakan soldiers, stopping them in their tracks, while the operators flailed their arms trying to dislodge the burning missiles. But the powder did its work well, and the flames surrounding the arrowheads continued to burn, no matter how the soldiers tried to extinguish them.

With Kambei shouting orders and encouragement, the samurai and farmers fired again and again at the charging Yakan soldiers, slowing their attack with a wall of flaming arrows, but the Yakan kept coming.

"Where is Nasami?" Katsushiro finally called out over the chaos as he brought down another Yakan soldier. "With her archery skills, she should be here!"

"She is where she needs to be," Kambei replied calmly, firing again and nocking a fresh arrow. Unlike the farmers, he seemed completely untroubled by the onslaught of Yakan soldiers, who were swarming onto the bridge.

Katsushiro cursed under his breath, but kept firing. In the back of his mind, he guessed that Kambei had assigned the samuraiko to keep an eye on the women and children at Kirara's house in case of a sneak attack by the Nobuseri, but to pull such a skilled samurai off the battle line...

Kambei, Kyuzo, and the other samurai continued to fire, as did the peasants, but soon the farmers, unused to the combined mental and physical strain of battle, began to waver. Manzo caught his hand on the bowstring and dropped it with a yelp, waving his hand in pain, while Yohei, Gozaku, and several of the others were panting hard from the constant draw and fire. But the samurai did not let up. Again and again they attacked, nocking an arrow just as the previous one left the bowstring in almost mechanical fashion, and yet their eyes were constantly moving back and forth, shifting their aim from target to target.

"We can't keep this up much longer!" one of the peasants cried in panic as the foot soldiers were about to reach the Kanna side of the bridge.

Suddenly Kambei lifted his voice in a commanding shout, filled with all the power he could summon. "NASAMI! NOW!"

For a single instant, the Yakan soldiers were so surprised by the shout that they slowed their onslaught.

Startled, Katsushiro and the other samurai glanced around, but saw no sign of the woman.

Then they looked over the edge of the wall.

Far below them, Nasami was standing on a rocky outcropping on the other side of the canyon, bow in hand, a torch shoved into the rocks beside her. The Nobuseri had been so busy attacking the farmers and samurai that they never noticed the samuraiko.

And she was smiling.

At Kambei's shout, she set an arrow aflame, nocked it, lifted the bow to her shoulder, aimed, and fired. The arrow raced through the air, straight into the underside of the middle of the bridge.

Where last evening, she and Shichiroji had carefully placed several large casks of explosives.

With a deafening roar, they ignited, and the entire bridge exploded before crashing down in flames. The peasants stared aghast as hundreds of the Yakan soldiers, unable to fly, fell past Nasami and plummeted down into the crevasse where they met their deaths on the canyon floor, while the samuraiko stood silently and watched the enemy die without a single word.

Kikuchiyo, however, was not nearly so restrained, and he leaned over the edge to shout into the crevasse, "Ya-hah, serves you right! Who's tough _now_, huh?"

Kambei, Gorobei, Kyuzo, Shichiroji, and Katsushiro stood by quietly and looked down into the canyon where Nasami was barely visible through the smoke billowing up from the ravine floor. Her eyes met Shichiroji's and her mouth twisted into a smile as the blond samurai flashed her a victory sign.

"For all their weapons, metal, and might, not one could endure a wall of fire and a hard canyon floor," Gorobei pronounced softly.

As the wreckage of the bridge crumbled into the canyon, and the last of the echoing rumble faded away, the samuraiko slung her bow over her shoulder, tossed the torch into the ravine, and then scaled the wall of the canyon until she was standing on the Nobuseri side of the crevasse. For a moment, she looked back over her shoulder at the samurai on the other side, then she grinned and vanished into the trees.

Heading straight for the Nobuseri forces.

"Where in the world is she going now?" Katsushiro blurted out, taking a step forward, staring open-mouthed across the ravine.

"Watch and see," Kyuzo said softly.

The peasants, however, took advantage of the break to drop their bows and sink to the ground in exhaustion, panting and groaning as they rubbed aching muscles and wiped the sweat from their eyes. Even with all of their training, and their years of labor in the fields, the relentless pace Kambei and the other samurai had set had nearly caused many of them to collapse.

"None of the samurai even broke a sweat," Gozaku said breathlessly as he looked at them enviously.

But Yohei was spooked as he knelt and studied the samurai, who were quietly watching the chaos on the other side of the canyon, bows canted against their shoulders, their faces calm even as the scent of burning metal, electronics, and flesh wafted up from the canyon floor. "Just... killing as if it were nothing," he whispered, remembering the look on Nasami's face as she had watched the Yakan soldiers come crashing down after collapsing the bridge. "And watching it all with those cold eyes."

A few minutes later, an explosion rang out from the other side of the canyon, and the peasants once again leapt to their feet just in time to see a division of Yakan soldiers that had been kept in reserve vanish in a ball of flame.

"What the-" Gorobei said with a start, pulling out his binoculars to peer at the other side of the canyon just as another explosion detonated in the rice fields, knocking a Raiden clear off its feet.

"Now do you understand why Shichiroji requested her assistance during the preparations?" Kambei asked the street performer, smiling coldly to himself.

"You've got to be kidding," Gorobei laughed as the remaining Nobuseri ship and the few Yakan soldiers left began retreating toward the mountains. "And Nasami routs the big bad bandits... I _knew_ I liked that woman for a reason."

"Great samurai, are you saying that... that's Nasami_-sama_ doing all of that?" Gonzo asked in disbelief, and Kambei nodded.

"B-but how is that possible?" Manzo stammered.

"That's right," Gozaku said softly. "Those trenches Nasami-_sama_ had us digging a couple of weeks ago. She must have used those trenches to bury explosives in the rice paddies."

Gorobei glanced sidelong at Kambei. "And I thought such tactics were forbidden."

"What is that saying Nasami is so fond of? 'All actions are honorable in war...'" Kambei shrugged. "Besides, the explosives she is using are much cruder than the ones used in the war, and as such, the damage she is creating is much less than it could have been... after all, she had less to work with. But the end result is the same, and that is what matters."

"I am so glad she's on our side," Shichiroji said, rubbing the back of his head with his mechanical hand as he laughed, just as another explosion caused even further chaos among the ranks of the Nobuseri.

Just then Kikuchiyo came charging down the path to approach the samurai by the rock wall. "Ha! Seriously, you guys were awesome!" he shouted cheerfully, but in a single instant, Kambei's katana was freed from its saya, and with a swift attack, he cleanly sliced Kikuchiyo's head from the rest of his mechanical body.

The peasants recoiled in horror, and Manzo practically fell over in shock as with slow, cold deliberation, Kambei held his stance before slowly sheathing his blade. Then slowly, he straightened and turned to look over his shoulder at the frightened farmers.

"Bring me a rope."

* * *

"Elder! Elder!" 

Mosuke ran toward the center of the village, where the Elder stood in the open clearing, watching the smoke drifting up toward the sky from the destruction that had been wreaked earlier. Even as Mosuke approached the older man, another booming explosion echoed through the air. Then he came to a stop, gasping for breath at having run the whole way from the rock wall.

The Elder did not turn around, but continued to watch the smoke impassively.

"The first wave of bandits was stopped..." It was a statement, not a question, and Mosuke nodded, looking down at his hands, which were still shaking at the thought of what he and the other farmers had done.

"Yes, they were," he whispered. "We killed them. We shot them down with our bows and arrows." A small part of his mind could hardly believe what he was saying. Peasants did not rebel against the tyranny. Peasants did not take arms against the Nobuseri. And peasants certainly did not _win_ against the Nobuseri. And yet... _and yet..._

"And did you make the bandits suffer?" the Elder asked, still not turning to look.

Mosuke's eyes were haunted by the memory of what they had done, and he sank to his knees.

Killed heaven knows how many bandits within the ship when the ballista bolt had smashed through it.  
Shot down countless more with their bows and arrows.  
Sent untold numbers to the bottom of the canyon where they met with a terrible and violent death.  
And standing quietly, watching it all, were the samurai.

"Yes, they suffered horribly!" he blurted out, shocked into speaking the truth.

He was shocked even more at the sound of rasping, satisfied laughter coming from the Elder.

At last, the Elder's laughter ceased, and he finally looked over his shoulder at Mosuke. "That's as it should be." He knew, after all, that the fate the Nobuseri had in mind for the farmers of Kanna would be far, far bloodier, savage, and vindictive.

Scrambling forward on his hands and knees, Mosuke reached out to take the hem of the Elder's cloak in his hands, clutching at him as though begging for help... or absolution... or mercy.

"But Elder, you know the bandits will never give up! They'll be back! What'll we do then?" He was practically tripping over his words as his courage finally failed him, without the heat of battle and the strength of the samurai to bolster him. "We may have won this time, but how can we stop them again?"

"Mosuke..." the Elder began, but the younger farmer cut him off.

"Elder, I really think we made a big mistake here-"

"MOSUKE!" This time there was no mistaking the fierceness in the Elder's voice, and Mosuke gulped. It was that same fierceness he and the other villagers had heard when Kambei had called for the farmers of Kanna to band together, that same defiance that the Elder had shouted to the skies until all of the villagers followed his example.

The Elder turned to look once again at the smoke curling along the horizon, and Mosuke's eyes followed his gaze.

"You want to live, don't you?" the Elder asked softly.

"Yes, of course," Mosuke began, and then he nearly fell over when the Elder rounded on him, his eyes filled with the same resolve that Mosuke had seen so often in Rikichi's eyes... in Shino's... in Kirara and Komachi's... and in the eyes of the samurai.

"Then fight, Mosuke, FIGHT!" the Elder shouted.

* * *

"What a damned disgrace," cursed a Raiden, driving his sword into the ground in frustration as he surveyed the damage and tallied their losses. "We attack them head-on and _this_ is what it gets us!" 

"The farmers have been taught to wield bows," another Raiden said bitterly, but they knew that was hardly an excuse. He and the other Nobuseri were still stinging from the triple attacks from the peasants... first the ballista shot, then the arrows on the bridge, and finally the sabotage tactics in the fields.

Sobei stood quietly and surveyed the carnage in the rice fields. Huge chunks of the paddies had been blown to ashes from casks of explosives hidden in the rice, and then there was the smoldering wreckage of the bridge where the Yakan soldiers had been so decisively destroyed. This went way beyond what the farmers were capable of, even with samurai assistance. This was also far beyond what just training with the samurai could do. This was undeniable proof of samurai treachery, taking the battle straight to the Nobuseri with that damnable honor of theirs.

There was no doubt about it. The seven were here.

"Quite a declaration of war," he mused almost thoughtfully. "They must think they'll get away with defying us."

Syusai was not nearly so casual about the whole affair. They had come here to make an example of Kanna, and instead were driven back by a handful of ronin and a pack of villagers. This went beyond just dealing with farmers and their insolence. This was now a matter of pride. And in such matters, you did not waste time dealing with the insignificant.

"Forget the farmers..." he hissed. "I want the samurai."

Sobei nodded. "I agree." But something nagged at him in the back of his mind as he continued to stare at Kanna Village in the distance. Samurai using saboteur attacks? This had to be the actions of the samuraiko Hyogo had mentioned... and if she was in Kanna Village... small wonder the farmers and the other samurai were so confident.

"So, Sasuraitsuru, you have come to Kanna," he said softly, lifting his enormous katana and pointing it toward Kanna Village in a silent challenge. "But your honor won't save you this time..."

_To be continued_...


	27. Sentenced to Death

_Note: This was both a tough and an easy chapter to write. On the one hand, the whole samurai ruse is such an awesome stunt (I admit, my first thought was, "GAMER MOMENT!"), but on the other hand, once again I was stuck with how I was going to write Nasami in. But she is devious when she wants to be, and one of her oft-quoted statements in the L5R game was, "How do you fight the enemy that you don't know exists?"_

_Then of course there's the whole scene with Ukyo, who still just makes my skin crawl. The inspiration for his conversation with Tessai came out while I was at work after a round of office politics, and trying to explain to my supervisor what I was scribbling in the middle of a team meeting was damned difficult..._

_However, I am absolutely panicking from here on out. And by panicking, I mean just that - PANICKING. For more, please read myMay 23rdLiveJournal rant under the heading "_AAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

_The music for this chapter is an homage to my favorite non-anime TV series of all time… "The Curse of Fenric," from the _Doctor Who_ episode of the same name. _

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Twenty-Seven_

At the Mikumari's house, where all of the women and children were gathered, Kirara held her dowsing crystal, sending her thoughts outward to sense the ebb and flow of the events around Kanna. She sensed that the first battle was over, but matters were not yet finished. As her crystal glowed brightly, Kirara's eyes drifted half-shut.

"Behind," she murmured.

"What, sister?" Komachi asked, startled after Kirara had been silent for so long, and the water priestess' eyes opened once more as the spirits whispered to her.

"The turbulent fog… it calls for change…"

Off to one side, unnoticed by most of the women, Tetsu, Kirara's grandmother, nodded. In her mind, she recalled the symbols and ways of the I Ching, the Book of Changes. "Water over Thunder," she whispered to herself. "The forces of chaos… difficult beginnings and an unclear way…"

Although her voice was barely audible, Shino heard the old woman, and shivered. Clasping her hands tightly, she bowed her head and prayed as she never had before in her life.

* * *

The Elder sat quietly in his house, meditating, communing in his own way with the world around him, when he became aware of a faint rumbling… growing louder and louder. He glanced at his walking stick, which was rattling beside the post against which it leaned, and then he stared off into the distance, as though seeing past the walls of his house toward the fields.

* * *

Okara and Komachi both started at the sudden tremor and looked at one another in surprise. 

"They're back?" Okara asked softly, peeking up at Kirara for some reassurance. But the water priestess said nothing, only stared straight ahead and listening to the spirits who spoke to her alone.

"Don't worry! We'll be fine, no matter what!" Komachi said brightly when Kirara didn't answer. "Kiku will take care of everything! He promised!"

Okara bit her tongue. Now was hardly the time to remind her younger friend that the big machine samurai's head had been neatly sliced from his body by Kambei's katana… although for that matter, now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen most of the samurai for some time. Not since the ballista had taken down one of the big Nobuseri ships and Kirara had chased them both inside where she could ostensibly keep an eye on them…

* * *

Off in the distance, out of the fog came three enormous shapes. 

Syusai and Sobei, the Nobuseri leaders in this area, and the remaining bandit transport ship. Behind them came about a dozen Mimizuku, their eyes cold and expressionless.

As the bandits' scanning devices assessed the rice crop, taking into account the height of the rice and how some of the fields had already been harvested, a few of the farmers in the fields caught sight of them, panicked, and ran.

At first, the Nobuseri ignored them, more surprised at what they were seeing in front of them. But they got an even bigger shock as they approached Kanna Village itself.

"Wait! Over there!" Sobei growled, and he and Syusai flew closer. "The farmers…"

And discovered Rikichi, Manzo, Gozaku, and the other men of Kanna Village bundling the latest harvest of rice into nearly twenty bushels.

For what seemed like an eternity, nobody moved. The peasants were terrified at the sight of their oppressors appearing from the fog out of nowhere, their minds filled with sudden and horrifying thoughts of bandit vengeance. The Nobuseri were stunned at the sheer audacity of the farmers for harvesting their rice after killing so many of their men.

Then with a yelp, Manzo fell over, and immediately all of the farmers followed suit, dropping the bushels and prostrating themselves.

"P-please, we beg you," Rikichi pleaded, shaking so hard that his voice trembled. "Let us explain!"

"Very well," Syusai said dryly. "You may try."

The young farmer was profoundly grateful that he was on his knees, because at this point he didn't think he could have stood if his life had depended on it. He stared at the ground, unable to lift his gaze to the bandits, fear paralyzing him like nothing ever had before.

"We realize now that we made a terrible mistake," he began, trying desperately to steady his voice but failing. "We were hungry, and scared we'd starve! We had no right to do what we did, we had no right to turn against you!"

"And how did you make such an error in judgment?" Sobei asked, approaching slightly, while the farmers pressed themselves closer to the ground, cowering. Despite the Nobuseri's quiet words, every man present could almost feel the anger simmering around the bandits and winced.

Rikichi swallowed hard and continued. "We forgot that we're merely farmers… and that we're tenants of this land, and have no right to it! We hired samurai to fight the Nobuseri for us, but we didn't know how war would be!" His eyes were haunted by the memory of the battle the other day… a rush of fiery arrows and the bridge exploding… the Yakan plunging to their deaths while the samurai watched with cold eyes… He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again. "And now we owe them too much, and we just want our simple lives back!"

The bandits said nothing.

"We were selfish and greedy, and thought we didn't need you," Rikichi went on in self-reproach. "Foolish! We should have known we'd never be able to make it on our own! We realize we don't deserve your mercy, but we beg you to believe us! We'll never try to go against you again, we swear!"

Still the bandits were silent, staring coldly at the villagers who shivered beneath their stoic gaze, until the silence became too much for Rikichi, and he glanced up at them, his eyes wide.

"Please say you'll spare us, just this once, great Nobuseri!" He gestured to the bushels of rice that lay on the ground where the farmers had dropped them in panic. "We want to give you this rice as a peace offering! And there's more of it to come! Please!"

"Of course we'll take your rice… whether it's for peace or not," Syusai said coldly. "But we want more than that. Where are the samurai?"

Rikichi flinched, and glanced to his right at Manzo. The older farmer was ashen, but nodded, and he turned to look behind him and signal at one of the other farmers, who got up and walked toward the nearest house.

The young man looked back at the Nobuseri. "They're here," he said softly. "We offer them to you also."

Sobei and Syusai looked up to see two more farmers leading three figures into the midst of the farmers, their weapons gone, and tied in such fashion that their hands and upper bodies were bound.

Kyuzo, Gorobei, and Katsushiro, all looking quietly defiant, their faces expressionless as they took in the kneeling farmers and the bandits that loomed over all of them.

Another farmer approached and handed a basket to Rikichi, then immediately knelt. Rikichi took the basket and held it up for Syusai and Sobei to see.

Inside was Kikuchiyo's head.

* * *

"Master Ukyo, I really hate to intrude, but…" 

"Then don't!" Ukyo snapped from where he sat playing cards with three of his favorite courtesans. It was bad enough that he had to manage things in his father's absence, which was interfering with his own pleasures, but to deal with these sordid matters was just so… not him.

"It's just that one of our spies has sent back a very… interesting report," Tessai went on.

Ukyo heaved a sigh. "Fine, you may enter."

"Thank you, Master." The door slid open to reveal Tessai kneeling on the floor, but Ukyo barely gave him a glance before going back to his game of cards.

"Well, out with it," Ukyo said lazily.

"Yes, Master. It appears that war has broken out between the Nobuseri and the villagers of Kanna."

"And I should care… why?" the young man said with ill-concealed boredom as he discarded one of his cards and drew another, then he smiled. "Ah, just the card I was looking for!"

The courtesans giggled, and Tessai gritted his teeth while trying to hang onto his patience.

"Surely you haven't forgotten already? Kanna Village is where that farm girl came from!"

That got Ukyo's attention at last, and he looked over at Tessai with greater interest. "Ah, my beloved Kirara! So, her village is at war with the Nobuseri… I guess that explains what she was doing with those samurai thugs we saw her with!"

Tessai went on. "We have lost contact with Hyogo and Kyuzo, who were dispatched to follow them. Our scouts discovered a fresh grave in the desert, and we dug it up." He paused, but Ukyo's attention had wandered again. "It was Hyogo, Master." He did not mention the broken sword that had been marking the grave.

"Grave robbing? Honestly, isn't that a tad morbid?" Ukyo chided, but Tessai was not finished.

"Hyogo's wound was clearly the work of a skilled swordsman, and since Kyuzo is nowhere to be found, we have to assume he may be… responsible." The thought galled him – two of the Magistrate's finest bodyguards, and now one was dead and the other missing.

Ukyo seemed to guess the train of his thoughts. "Have you told my father yet?" he asked silkily.

"No, Master," Tessai replied, and the young man smiled.

"Let's keep it that way. Oh, and I suppose you can call off that samurai hunt now."

Tessai blinked in surprise. Of all the things he had expected Ukyo to say, that was not one of them, but it was not his place to question orders, and he bowed low. "As you wish."

Ukyo idly studied the card he held. "So, my Kirara's still alive… hmm." Then he tossed the card aside and looked at his father's leader of security and smiled coldly. "Tessai, I want you to tell me everything there is to know about this Kanna Village… and keep an eye on them, for a storm is on the horizon that will soon throw the very heavens into disarray!"

"What do you mean, Master?"

The Magistrate's son smirked, and from his pocket produced a letter. "Let's just say that… you're not the only one with resources."

Tessai stared, recognizing the seal on the outside. "A letter… from Hyogo? But Master, I don't…"

"Understand? Of course not, how could you? But I'll tell you, Tessai. This letter is proof of something that has caused our city no end of trouble… it names the assassin of the Imperial Envoy."

"What? How is that possible?" Tessai stammered. "All of our investigations… every lead we have pursued… how did Hyogo find out?"

Ukyo grinned mischievously, clearly relishing the effect his news was having on the older man. "Goodness, Tessai, I would have thought you'd be glad! After all, you did send him to follow those samurai brutes, a wise move I should say, and then this arrived. It was meant for Father, but since he's not here, I thought it best if I handled this... little trifle. Now we know who's to blame for all of this mess!"

"And that would be…?"

"See for yourself." With a flick of his hand, Ukyo tossed the letter to Tessai, who caught it. "And in the meantime, tell me... what do you know about a samuraiko named Nasami, Tessai?"

Tessai paused, startled by the apparent change in conversation. Surely Ukyo didn't mean… "Well, I only know that she is a skilled swordsman, by all accounts,and her family has ties to the Emperor. And I know that many local daimyo and magistrates have offered for her to strengthen their position in the Imperial court."

"Really?" Ukyo purred. "Is she attractive?"

"I've never seen her, so I'm afraid that I can't say."

Ukyo sighed in disappointment. "I see... well, I guess even the brightest stars fall eventually."

"Master?" Then all of a sudden Tessai understood where Ukyo was going with this idea, and nearly tore the letter open. Inside was Hyogo's detailed accusation against the samuraiko Nasami for the murder of the Envoy, and his testimony for her reasons of wanting the Envoy dead, as well as the possibility of his own death if Nasami were to learn of his accusation.

"Tessai? Tessai! You know, Tessai, it's rude to ignore me!" Suddenly he became aware that Ukyo was speaking to him.

"This… can't be," Tessai said, looking up at the young man.

"Why not?" Ukyo was petulant that his surprise was not having quite the effect he'd hoped for.

"For one thing, with Hyogo dead, and her own reputation to protect her, the accusation is almost meaningless," Tessai said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, use your brain, Tessai. The man accuses her of killing an Envoy, and then he turns up dead? She couldn't have made her guilt any more obvious than if she'd announced it herself in the city streets."

"We also have no idea where she is. She fled Kougakyo at the same time as your farm girl and the samurai, and could be anywhere by now."

"Ah, but I doubt that. After all, you did send Hyogo and Kyuzo to follow them, and if they found out about this along the way, then wouldn't you say it makes sense that she would be on her way to Kanna as well? And to think that my Kirara is running around with such a woman… I hope that association doesn't go on too long, I'd hate for this samuraiko's bad habits to rub off on her."

* * *

"We offer you the samurai as atonement for this shameful display of arrogance." Rikichi was nearly in tears as he held up the basket with Kikuchiyo's head. "Please accept, and forgive us!" With that, he flattened himself to the ground again. 

Sobei grunted in disdain, but then the nagging thought at the back of his mind finally came to the forefront, and he looked closer at the samurai, his sensors carefully studying them until he came to the last.

"Kyuzo," he said in surprise, "is that you?" He peered at the fair-haired samurai who stared back at him implacably. "I can't believe you've fallen so low."

"Likewise."

"What did you say?" Syusai roared, drawing back his sword. "Is _this_ what you call fallen?"

And with that, he slammed it into the ground mere inches away from the samurai while the peasants scattered. "You're nothing but a stray dog, bought by the like of peasants!" he shouted.

None of the samurai, however, even flinched, so Syusai rounded on the farmers once again.

"Before I counted seven samurai altogether!" he accused. "What happened to the other three?"

When none of the other peasants spoke, Rikichi sat up. "We killed them!" he blurted out. "We shot them down when they tried to run!"

"Really…" Sobei drawled, drawing out the word in clear disbelief.

"They taught us how to use bow and arrow," Rikichi said defensively, realizing that reminding the Nobuseri of this fact was probably not the best of choices given how he and the other farmers had killed so many of the Yakan soldiers a few days before. "When we realized how wrong we'd been to betray you, we turned on them!" His voice trembled, but he went on. "They were outnumbered, and we shot them as they tried to escape!"

"And the samuraiko?" Sobei asked, looking around as though just now noticing her absence."Where is she? Or are you claiming that you managed to kill her as well?"

Rikichi shook his head. "No, great Nobuseri. Unwilling to risk disgrace, she asked to commit seppuku. One of these samurai-" he gestured to Kyuzo - "was with her to complete her task. Then, in accordance with her last wishes, her body was burned, and her swords returned home to her family."

"Prove it," Syusai said, his voice low.

Rikichi glanced over toward the forest, and the bandits saw the remains of a funeral pyre there. Standing proudly above it like a grave marker was a naginata. One of the Mimizuku approached and carefully sifted through the ashes and debris, and then held up a long fragment of pale grey cloth. Carefully embroidered into it was a _mon_. He held it up for the Nobuseri leader to see.

"So..." Sobei murmured, "you're saying that Sasuraitsuru is dead." Then all at once he was shouting. "Do you truly expect me to believe that a samuraiko like her would kill herself to avoid disgrace?"

Rikichi threw himself flat against the ground once more. "We asked her why. Her words were, 'I acted without orders from my lord, and have dishonored my _musha shugyo_.'"

Syusai growled. "That woman has a reputation for doing what she wishes, anyway, why change now?"

Rikichi sat up once again, but kept his eyes lowered. "She also said... 'I have also betrayed my lord, in following my heart. A samurai must not love, for to love is to divide my loyalty. Though the man I love is dead, I will not live with that shame. I will go to my ancestors and apologize for staining my family's name.'"

The Nobuseri looked at one another. That was very much what Nasami would say, as honor-bound by tradition as she was.

"And her swords?" Sobei asked finally.

"A Tortoise Express rider passed through here yesterday. As we are forbidden to touch a samurai weapon, the samurai bound her swords in cloth. Then we sent them to her family's holdings as she directed."

"I see," Sobei rumbled. "So you were cowardly enough to shoot samurai in the back, but honorable enough to give her a samurai death?"

Rikichi looked uncomfortable. "I suppose... it was because... killing a woman was just something we couldn't quite make ourselves do."

Syusai gestured to one of the Mimizuku. "You... head to Kyuden Shiden'issen and see if they are telling the truth. If you pass a Tortoise Express rider along the way, confirm that the rider has her swords - no true samurai would ever let herself be parted from her weapons unless she were dead. Stop every rider along the way if you have to. If you do not find one, do not stop until you reach the castle itself. It may be that the rider will have gotten there ahead of you."

"Yes, lord," the Mimizuku replied and dashed off. With that, Sobei turned back to the terrified farmers.

"Anything else we should know?"

"No, great Nobuseri," Rikichi said, bowing once more.

"We're not convinced," Syusai rasped, glancing down at the ranks of Mimizuku. "Seize them!"

"Yes, sir!" one replied, and several dashed forward. Two of them shoved aside the farmers guarding the samurai and took up the ropes themselves to lead them away, while others shoved a long hollowed bamboo stalk into one of the bushels to reveal the rice within.

"So, you've been hiding rice from us," they accused, and the peasants whimpered. Then the remaining Mimizuku drew their swords and formed a ring around the cowering farmers. Katsushiro, Gorobei, and Kyuzo heard the sounds of weapons being drawn and paused to look back.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Rikichi yelped, trying to crawl away, but there was nowhere to go. Even if they somehow got past the Mimizuku, the Nobuseri and their ship would simply gun them down if they ran.

"You miserable cheats will serve as a lesson for the other villages!" Syusai hissed.

"Hold on a minute! If you kill us, who will grow your rice?" Yohei called, trying to reason with the bandits, but Sobei shrugged.

"Oh, there are plenty of other villages," he said bluntly as the Mimizuku advanced.

"We promise you, we'll never betray you again!" Gozaku cried, falling to his knees.

"You may have had a change of heart," Syusai shot back, "but you've also showered us with arrows and killed our men! We cannot let such defiance go… we have no choice but to brutally punish you for these trangressions against us!"

"Please give us another chance, great Nobuseri!" Rikichi howled.

"Don't do this!" Manzo shrieked, even as he threw his arms over his head and shut his eyes.

"Great Nobuseri!" Gozaku screamed as the Mimizuku closed in…

_To be continued_...


	28. Samurai Uprising

_Note: From here out, I just LOVED this episode. Absolutely non-stop, in-your-face action, especially once the samurai start tearing up the inside of the Nobuseri ship and carving up the bandits. Amusingly enough, while watching that whole scene where Kambei shatters the door by focusing his chi, my husband turned to me (since by this point I was writing The Sword of the Soul) and said, "Well, I guess we both know who taught him THAT!"_

_I also love this episode because on the FUNimation DVDs, this is one with commentary from Chris Bevins (the voice director, and voice of Gozaku), Sean Michael Teague (Katsushiro), and R Bruce Elliott (Kambei), and listening to them is just great. (Hearing them do their own version of the dialogue between Tessai and Ukyo is hilarious...)_

_For all the fans of TSotS, I have two desktops available now for you guys! Both can be found on my LiveJournal (address in my profile)- one is of Kambei and Nasami; the other is of all the samurai. I've also added two animated banners for anyone who wants to promote my story (I love publicity, I should wear a sign that says "Will Fish for Compliment" or "Will Write for Affirmation"). And all of them are quite cool, if I do say so myself._

_Chapter Twenty-Eight's music is the track "Hispanola" from the Vangelis score of 1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE._

**

* * *

The Sword of the Soul **

_Chapter Twenty-Eight_

"Please wait!"

Everyone stopped, bandits and farmers alike, then they all turned to stare as Kirara approached.

"Water priestess!" Rikichi blurted out, startled to see her.

"What are you doing?" Manzo stammered as Kirara quietly knelt and bowed to the Nobuseri, ignoring the swords leveled at her and the other farmers by the Mimizuku.

"I have an offer for you," she said at last.

"Priestess, what are you talking about?" Rikichi asked softly, not at all certain what Kirara was hoping to accomplish by drawing the bandits' attention to herself.

"I take it you are the girl who went to Kougakyo to recruit the samurai?" Sobei asked.

"Yes," Kirara replied.

"What do you want?"

"I'm offering to give myself up to whatever fate you choose for me in exchange for my people's safety," she answered, and all of the villagers gasped in horror.

"You want to trade your life for theirs?" The bandit looked at her skeptically, and Kirara nodded.

"That's right." She took a deep breath, and went on. "You have a right to be angry, and I realize it might be satisfying to destroy this village. That would be the easy thing to do. But you Nobuseri were once great samurai, so you know a warrior doesn't always do what's easiest. If you allow yourself to be angered by mere farmers, you will show weakness and fear. You will have nothing distinguishing you from the merchants or the samurai. You'll be insignif-"

"SILENCE!" Syusai hissed, drawing his sword and leveling at Kirara before she could continue, and she froze, terrified that she had gone too far.

Syusai advanced, keeping the edge of his enormous katana pointed at the water priestess. "You think you can get what you want just by flapping your lips?"

As foolish as it might have been to provoke them in the first place, even Kirara was not so foolhardy as to try and answer that one. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and stared at the bandit's sword, trying very hard not to think about the fact that she might have goaded them into killing her.

For what felt like forever, the mental standoff continued - Syusai glaring down at Kirara, Kirara sitting and waiting for him to decide her fate, and the farmers watching helplessly.

At last, Syusai withdrew his blade, threw back his head and laughed. "I like that! Well, little girl, you belong to us now. Bring her to me."

"Yes, lord," chorused two of the Mimizuku, who flanked Kirara, lifted her to her feet, and led her away.

As Syusai and Sobei lifted the bushels of rice to take with them, Sobei looked down at the peasants in amusement. "Who would have thought you could appease our rage by making us nostalgic about honor?" Then, quietly chuckling, the two bandit leaders headed back to their ship, with the Yakan soldiers forming up behind them, and the Mimizuku guarding the captured samurai and Kirara coming last.

All the farmers could do was watch in terror, then at last, Rikichi sank to his knees.

"I hope you know what you're doing, priestess," he prayed, his heart heavy with fear. Then the sound of footsteps approaching made him glance up, and he saw the Elder standing beside him, watching the Nobuseri ship leave with an implacable expression on his face.

"Elder?" Rikichi whispered, not even certain what his question was, or even if he did, that he wanted to know the answer, but the Elder was silent.

For a long time, none of the farmers spoke, or even moved - they just stared into the distance, watching the Nobuseri ship fly off into the distance with the captured samurai and the water priestess.

"Have they gone?"

All of the farmers turned as a figure emerged from the trees.

Nasami, clad in her armor and holding _Mamorimasu_ in her hand.

"Yes, great samurai," Rikichi said softly. "But they sent one of the Mimizuku to your family's holdings."

Nasami smiled grimly. "Well, too bad for him that he won't be reporting in to his masters any time soon."

"You caught him already?" Gozaku said in disbelief.

"Of course," she said, surprised he even had to ask.

"B-but how?"

Nasami flicked the blood from her blade in the ancient chiburi tradition, then resheathed the katana in the saya at her waist. "It's a well-known concept that 'you cannot fight the enemy you do not know exists.'"

"I don't understand," Rikichi said.

"First, we had to convince the bandits I was dead. After you did that, they stopped looking for me. Then the Nobuseri were so busy paying attention to all of you that they stopped tracking that Mimizuku just after they gave the order to head to the Kyuden. They never noticed _he _was dead before he ever left Kanna, more fools, they. And as for the rest of the bandits, well..."

She shrugged, and all of the peasants shuddered. "They won't be a problem much longer anyway."

"I still don't understand why you didn't go with them," Mosuke said hesitantly.

"Because I don't trust the Nobuseri any farther than I can throw them," she replied, her eyes on the ship in the distance. "I will not leave Kanna undefended. So I will stay here until the samurai return."

"But you're only one samurai!" Manzo stammered. "What are you going to do if the Nobuseri really do attack us?"

For a long time, she said nothing. At last, she turned her eyes to Manzo, who fell back from the coldness he saw there. "I'm going to kill them all."

* * *

"In the meantime, I have an idea..." She thought for a moment, and then nodded to herself, gesturing to the rest of the men. "The Nobuseri are gone, so you can stop cowering. All of you, on your feet. Which four of you are the best archers?" 

They looked at one another, and then four of them raised their hands. "We... actually shot the best during practice, great samurai."

"Good. Go back to where the weapons have been stored and retrieve your bows and arrows," Nasami ordered, and they bowed and dashed off. "Rikichi, go to the Mikumari's house, and bring back Shino, along with at least three other women, preferably young and strong. Tell Shino to bring her naginata with her, just in case, and mine."

"Yes, great samurai," Rikichi replied, bowing quickly, and then setting off at a run toward Kirara's house.

"So what's the plan, great samurai?" Gozaku asked after a few minutes, while Nasami stood and waited patiently for the others to return.

"Well, I don't have your experience with growing rice, but I'm fairly certain that most of you farmers harvest your rice at roughly the same time, correct?"

"Generally, yes," Mosuke admitted, coming forward. "Of course, the exact day of harvesting may be different, but..."

"That much I understand. And we all know that Kanna is hardly the only village under the heel of the Nobuseri."

"That's certainly true," Yohei muttered. "All the villages in this region are plagued by those accursed bandits."

Just then the four archers returned, bows over their shoulders, holding several arrows each. A minute or two later, Rikichi arrived with Shino and three other young women.

"Here you are, _sensei_," Shino said, bowing slightly and handing the samuraiko a naginata.

"Excellent. Elder, if you would, please return to the Mikumari's house and let the women know we will be back shortly. Until then, they are to remain where they are. Everyone else, come with me. You four, keep your bows handy and an arrow in hand, all of you. And I want you all to understand this."

She leveled her naginata at them and met the eyes of the farmers one by one. "If I tell you to stop, attack, run, or do anything else, you will do it and ask questions later. Are we clear on this?"

Everyone nodded and bowed.

"Wait, where are we going?" Manzo said, startled.

Nasami's eyes lit up as she turned her gaze toward the wreckage of the other Nobuseri ship.

* * *

The samuraiko carefully led the peasants across the remains of the fields on the far side of the canyon to where the Nobuseri ship lay, moving with no more sound than a ghost, the peasants cautiously following behind her. Abruptly she stopped, and held out a hand in warning to the farmers, who froze in their tracks. Then they stared in shock as a Yakan combat machine leisurely drifted past on guard. 

"Don't move," she whispered to the farmers. "Just wait for him to leave."

Rikichi gulped, but crouched down out of sight, and eventually the Yakan moved past.

"All right, let's go." Nasami took off toward the Nobuseri ship as quickly as possible, the peasants scrambling after her until they stood in the shadows of the enormous vessel. "Now, it should be... right... around... here!" She drove the end of her naginata into a panel, and with a slow hiss, the panel moved inward to reveal an open hatchway.

"Why didn't you just kill him, great samurai?" Gonzo asked her as she kicked the hatchway aside.

"Because you're supposed to be cowed, the samurai are supposed to be prisoners, and I'm supposed to be dead. Therefore, who could have killed him?"

Gonzo opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Exactly," she said softly, then she signaled to the four archers. "I want the four of you to stay here and stay hidden, and keep watch. As far as I can see, they've only assigned the one Yakan to keep watch. Do not attack him unless he gets suspicious and comes close enough to find you. You and you-" she pointed to the first two - "stay down here on the ground, while the other two are to climb up about twenty feet. If he attacks, take two shots each, then head back to the village as fast as you can and try to draw him off. He won't be able to navigate the canyon path as easily as you can on foot."

"Yes, great samurai," they chorused, their faces pale, and Nasami looked over at the remaining farmers.

"Follow me. Walk only where I walk, don't touch anything unless I say so, and keep your voices down." With that, she vanished into the hatchway, and the others followed. Once inside, she moved to stand beside Shino. "I want you to stay here and keep watch as well," she murmured, her voice low. "If the archers start shooting, stay hidden behind the door. If he follows them, fine, but if not, the Yakan will most likely come in here. If he comes in... deal with him."

Shino's face was white, but she clutched the shaft of her naginata and nodded once. "Yes, _sensei_. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't," Nasami replied softly. "We will be back shortly." She glanced at the other peasants. "Let's go."

The samuraiko began leading the farmers up a long, spiraling staircase heading from the remains of the engine room up into one of the large corridors, and Nasami began to count under her breath as she climbed from landing to landing. When they reached a certain number, Nasami guided them down a corridor until they reached a door, then she waved the others back. Taking a firm grip on the naginata, she drew a deep breath, and then sliced downward as hard as she could, just to the left of the lock.

And with a loud clang, the door fell into the chamber beyond, as the peasants stared.

"I don't believe it..." Gozaku whispered, and Nasami's eyes narrowed, taking in the bundles of rice piled from floor to ceiling - almost a hundred of them.

"Believe it. The ill-gotten gains of the Nobuseri from a dozen villages across the countryside."

"But how in the world did you know it was here?" Yohei blurted out.

"The day of the battle, after this ship was shot down, I came over here and scouted the entire ship, in case either I or the other samurai were ever taken aboard one of these things. I know how the Nobuseri think - they think they can never lose. And if they had just taken rice off another village, they would never stop to drop if off first before going into battle. I'd already checked most of the othe space in this ship, and this is one of the few doors that was locked. Therefore, it was something worth hiding... or protecting. I didn't have the time to investigate then, but it was a very likely possibility. Now, to business. Each of you, take one bundle of rice for now. We will be back here again."

"This is incredible!" Manzo said, his eyes wide. "We'll never have to worry about the bandits again!"

"Not so fast," she warned. "Yes, we're going to take this out of here, but once it's been removed, you're hardly going to hide this that easily. Not until the bandits are completely destroyed. And second, we're going to send word to the villages around Kanna."

"What for?" Rikichi asked.

"We're going to make sure that each village gets some of this. You're not the only ones facing starvation, and I won't have this rice hoarded when others are going hungry."

"But they're not the ones who fought back," Manzo said petulantly. "We're the ones taking all the risk-" He stopped as Nasami rounded on him, the very edge of her naginata touching his chest just over his heart. The other villagers just stared as the samuraiko glared at the terrified farmer, never taking her eyes from his, but then she lifted the blade away and turned her back on him.

"We've wasted enough time. Take one bushel each and let's get out of here." Without another word, the peasants each lifted a bushel and balanced it on their shoulders with the ease of long practice, then they filed out of the ship one by one.

* * *

With a grunt and a curse, Katsushiro was flung into a holding cell inside the Nobuseri ship. Unable to strike back, he contented himself with glaring at the Mimizuku. In the next cells over, Gorobei and Kyuzo sat with their eyes closed, as though in meditation. 

Quietly waiting...

Meanwhile, up in the main control room of the Nobuseri ship, two Mimizuku were holding Kirara, along with Kikuchiyo's head suspended on a pike, while the Nobuseri leaders planned their next move. Kirara fidgeted, trying to get away from the two assassins without being obvious, but Sobei caught her at it.

"Don't get too cozy. We're delivering you to the capital."

"Capital?" she asked in surprise, momentarily startled out of her efforts to get away from the Mimizuku.

"You sound surprised. You didn't think we were going to put you in with those samurai, did you? After all, sweet girls and sweet rice... they both fetch a high price." Sobei's voice was smug, which was almost as bad for Kirara as the idea that she was about to be sold into slavery.

"So is that where you've taken all the other women you've abducted from our villages?" Her eyes were huge with the thought that Rikichi's wife and Honoka's sister had been taken that far away.

"You mean 'saved,'" he shot back. "They're in paradise now compared to the dungheaps they call home."

"How can they possibly be happy when they're torn away from their homes and their families?" Kirara shouted, all of her fear forgotten in a wave of indignant outrage.

"You'll see for yourself soon enough," the Nobuseri leader said silkly, and with that, Kirara felt as though the floor had dropped out from beneath her, until a portal window opened and she realized that the Nobuseri ship was moving down into the canyon. With a shriek, she fought against losing her balance, momentarily grateful that the Mimizuku were actually holding her upright. The ship descended, then lifted again on the far side of the canyon, and then rotated so that it was facing Kanna Village in the distance.

"Take a last look," Sobei invited. "Soon your memory will be all that's left of this wretched village and its people."

Kirara whirled around in horror. "But that's not the deal we made!" she cried. "You said you would spare them in exchange for my life!"

"I agreed to nothing," Syusai said casually. "All I said was that you belong to me now."

"And you call yourself a samurai?" she flung at him, but all he did was shrug.

"Samurai are a thing of the past."

"Please don't do this, I'm begging you!" she pleaded.

The Nobuseri and Mimizuku ignored her, but suddenly the eyes of Kikuchiyo's helmet glowed.

* * *

Deep within the recesses of the Nobuseri ship, a mechanical arm shot up from inside one of the bushels of rice taken from Kanna. 

In the holding cells, Gorobei scented the change in the air, and leaned forward. Twisting and contorting his upper body until it cracked and ached, he managed to free himself from his bonds, and with a wide grin, he got to his feet.

One by one, with weapons in hand, Kambei, Kikuchiyo, Shichiroji and Heihachi emerged from the stolen bushels of rice, gasping. Heihachi brushed loose rice from his clothes and his cap with a rueful grin. "Oh man, now I know how the rice feels!"

Shichiroji laughed at him. "With as much as you love the stuff, I'd have figured you'd enjoy it!"

"I do like rice," the woodcutter admitted cheerfully. "In fact, after we finish up here, I could use a bowl or two!"

Kambei, however, was taking a moment to survey the room they were in, comparing it to the map that Nasami had provided all of them after her scouting mission the other day. Once he had everything straight in his mind, he was all business. "Heihachi, get to the engine room. You know what to do."

"Sure thing," Heihachi replied, nodding, and Kambei turned toward the door.

"All right, let's go."

Testing the door, however, revealed it to be locked.

"Any bright ideas?" Shichiroji asked, leaning on his staff, but Kambei frowned in thought.

"I wonder..."

"_A samurai's greatest strength is not found in his sword... it is found in his soul_." Nasami's words came back to him, and he smiled faintly to himself. "Well, Nasami, let's see if your words are true in a literal sense as well."

He planted both feet, drew his sword, and turned it in his grasp so that the very edge of the blade was touching the doorframe. Closing his eyes, he focused all of his thought, all of his being on the blade, until it began to vibrate slightly, humming with power. The song of the sword grew louder and louder, until Kambei abruptly opened his eyes, and _pushed_ with his soul.

The door shattered, to the astonishment of the dozen or so Mimizuku standing guard in the hallway outside.

"The samurai!"

"Get them!"

They didn't get two feet when a figure in blue and red came swooping over Kambei's head - Shichiroji, using his naginata to pole-vault over the other samurai. "Sorry to drop in on you like this!" he shouted gleefully, knocking several of them aside, then taking on half a dozen on his own as Kambei and Heihachi charged into the fray.

Kambei raced down the corridor, slicing straight through a Mimizuku foolish enough to get in his way, but another stood guard at the door, laughing... but he stopped when Kambei lashed out with one foot, elbowed him in the face, whirled and brought his katana down in a vicious slash.

"HEIHACHI, GO!" he yelled, and with a quick bow, Heihachi lightly hopped over the bodies of the Mimizuku to head for the stairs.

"Hey, I'm already gone!"

"Us too?" Shichiroji asked as he straightened, and Kambei nodded. Then he turned to shout, "Kikuchiyo, let's move!" The headless samurai lifted his arms in a defiant gesture and blew steam in a silent laugh.

* * *

Up in the holding cells, one of the Mimizuku was taunting Gorobei, who looked as though he were fidgeting uncomfortably against the wall of his cell. 

"Aww, what's wrong? Gotta go? Too bad you're just a lowly prisoner-" Abruptly he choked as Gorobei's hand shot through the bars and grabbed him by the throat. "You... bastard!" was all he managed to croak before he passed out, but Gorobei was fast enough to catch the keys off him before he fell to the floor.

For a moment, he studied them, then he dryly remarked to himself, "Well then, I guess it's time to earn my keep."

In the cell to his left, he found Katsushiro seated on the floor, looking frustrated and disheveled, vainly trying to free himself from the ropes that bound him. Gorobei unlocked the door and peered inside.

"What's the matter? You haven't untied yourself yet?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't study circus tricks like you," Katsushiro said defensively, still struggling to get loose. Gorobei just shrugged and stood up again, then he glanced over into Kyuzo's cell. The fair-haired samurai was seated placidly on the floor of his cell in the same cross-legged position he'd been in earlier, but this time his ropes were laid out in a neat circle around him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Gorobei lamented, rubbing the back of his head. "No fun at all!"

_To be continued_...


	29. The Revenge of the Eight

_Note: It took me forever to get into the groove for this chapter, but I finally did it, and I think it came out well! What helped was that after DAYS of looking for the right music, I finally found it when I went back to a soundtrack that I had rejected for an earlier chapter. (I went through every soundtrack I own, looking for good combat music... not easy with a music collection like mine!)_

_Now more than ever, I SO wish I could animate... you'll understand why when you read it (hint: Rikichi and Nasami)._

_Chapter Twenty-Nine's music (a 'must listen' when reading this chapter) is the terrific "Morlocks Attack" from the remake of THE TIME MACHINE._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Twenty-Nine_

"Move in a little closer," Syusai rumbled, and the Nobuseri ship turned slightly to provide a better view of Kanna Village in the distance.

"Please, Nobuseri, where is your honor?" Kirara shrieked. "You can't do-" Her words choked off abruptly as one of the Mimizuku standing beside her, at a gesture from Sobei,casually drew his katana and placed it beneath her chin to silence her.

"Shut up and watch," Syusai taunted, relishing the look of open panic on the water priestess' face.

Far beneath the viewport, however, the samurai were far from idle. Guided by Nasami's information, along with Kikuchiyo's head sending information along to his body, Kambei, Shichiroji, and Kikuchiyo quickly made their way from one side of the Nobuseri ship to the other. A group of Mimizuku and Yakan were stationed as guards on the far side, but the samurai charged straight into them. Taken completely by surprise, the bandits counterattacked, but were able to do little to fend off their assailants.

Shichiroji in particular was enjoying himself, swinging his naginata around and taking on both Mimizuku and Yakan with glee. "Come on guys, you could at least try!" he shouted cheerfully even as he knocked out another Mimizuku, and Kikuchiyo's large sword carved a Yakan clear in half.

"Quickly, inform Lord Syusai!" one of the Mimizuku shouted to a Yakan, who turned and headed for the stairs. Kambei, however, spotted him leaving, and got Shichiroji's attention with a shout.

"I'm all over it!" Shichiroji called back, and hurled his naginata like a javelin. His aim was true, and the Yakan went tumbling into the darkness.

"Damn you!" the Mimizuku cursed, but Kambei brought his katana down in a vicious slice, then caught the bandit's katana in his free hand. He turned briefly to check on Shichiroji and Kikuchiyo, then called, "Come on!" and ran for the stairs, the blond samurai pausing just long enough to retrieve his weapon.

* * *

Heihachi, in the meantime, had decided to get down to the engine room as fast as possible, so he'd crawled into a Yakan shell, positioned it at the top of the spiral staircase, and rolled all the way down. As he tumbled out at the bottom, however, he was rubbing his head and ruefully wishing he could have left his stomach at the top of the stairs.

* * *

Up in the prison cells, Gorobei, Kyuzo, and Katsushiro were also making their presence felt, even as more of the Mimizuku assassins arrived to prevent them from leaving. 

"Very clever!" one of the Mimizuku taunted. "But you are outnumbered, and you are unarmed-"

Gorobei immediately shoulder-checked him, snatched his katana away, leapt over the Yakan behind him, and yanked open the lid of the Yakan shell to dispatch its operator. Kyuzo was already moving like a red whirlwind, and in an instant had two katanas in his hand and was carving a swathe through the group of Mimizuku that surrounded him.

Katsushiro stood open-mouthed. "That was incredible, Gorobei-_dono_!" he whispered, but the street performer picked up another katana and threw it to him.

"Here. In case you feel like helping out."

Katsushiro froze, staring at the sword as though he'd suddenly found himself holding a live cobra. Since the night he'd killed Genzo, he had not been in combat, had struggled even just to practice his kata, and all at once his heart was pounding and he couldn't breathe.

One of the Mimizuku, noticing his distraction, attacked with a shout and sent the young samurai flying into a wall, his katana skidding away along the floor while other Mimizuku closed in. Katsushiro landed on the ground with a grunt of pain, and when he looked up and saw five Mimizuku surrounding him, he flattened himself against the wall in panic. His breath came faster and faster, and in a sudden moment of clarity, he heard Nasami's voice.

"_I have no life or death_..."

"I make the tides of breathing my life or death..." he whispered as he had on that sunlit afternoon by the river, and he drew in slow and deliberate breaths as he had been taught, timing each inhalation and exhalation to the slamming of his heartbeat.

In the midst of his own struggles, Gorobei glanced over and saw the young man standing with his back to the wall, surrounded by assassins. "Katsushiro!" he shouted, but the young man stopped him with a single shake of his head.

"I don't need your help!" he yelled back, and without turning around, Gorobei neatly skewered another Mimizuku, grinning.

"_So you're a samurai_?" Kambei's question from their first meeting so long ago echoed in Katsushiro's mind.

"I..." he whispered, his eyes wide and his face pale.

"_A samurai is one who brings death_..." came the memory of Nasami's voice.

"I... I am... indeed..."

The Mimizuku lifted their weapons and slowly advanced.

"... A SAMURAI!" Katsushiro screamed from the very depths of his soul.

Lunging forward, he aimed a deadly palm strike straight at one of the Mimizuku. In an instant, the assassin's sword was in his hand, and the young man was moving without thought, lost in a red haze as time itself slowed and his katana moved with a life of its own. Within a handful of heartbeats, he had cut down three more of them, rolled to one side, and with an accuracy he'd never realized he possessed, flung his katana straight into the chest of a fourth. The bloodlust sang in his veins as he frantically searched for another target, and he threw himself at a Mimizuku who was trying to rouse one of the others, knocking him to the ground. Again and again he pounded on the assassin with his fists before finally grabbing his sword away and driving it into his body with a wild cry.

Time started again and the red haze vanished, and suddenly Katsushiro was staring at the blood on his hands and the katana he held. With a hoarse scream, he plunged the katana into the ground beside the Mimizuku's body and rolled off him, dragging air into his lungs in heaving breaths that were almost sobs.

Then he looked up and saw Kyuzo and Gorobei watching him. The street performer came over to stand over him, staring down at him with a strange mix of emotions on his face - pride, despair, disgust, concern. But in the end, he turned away, and murmured, "Let's go."

* * *

Heihachi stood before the enormous gears of the engines, watching them turn and move, driving power to the ship. 

"I gotta get the timing of this just right," he murmured. "Hmmm..."

In his mind, he quickly did a series of calculations, and compared it to the timing of the gears. As his brain worked out the rhythm, he grinned and rubbed the back of his head, and started to sing the same goofy song that Rikichi had sung to distract the Yakan soldiers. Leaping up onto the nearest gear, he lightly danced from one to the other, twisting and turning easily in time to the song as the huge metal parts swung mere inches away from his body. However, while leaping off the last gear, he tripped and stumbled, nearly landing facefirst on the floor.

"Whoops!" he laughed, hopping from one foot to the other in a frantic attempt to gain his balance back. Then he laughed out loud and dashed over to the engine controls, and gleefully began reprogramming them. Circuits were shut down, power was rerouted, commands were disabled, all while his hands danced over the controls just as easily as he had danced among the moving engine gears. At last, he reached up to the lever that would reroute the power, and with a heartfelt "Here goes nothing...", he yanked down as hard as he could.

The swinging pendulum driving the engine gears faltered, then slowed, then stopped.

In the main chamber, Kirara felt the floor shudder beneath her feet. Glancing outside, she saw that the ship appeared to be slowly descending.

The Nobuseri noticed it too.

"What's this?" Syusai asked. "We seem to be losing altitude."

Sobei turned to one of the attending Yakan soldiers. "Take care of it!" he called.

"Yes, lord," the Yakan replied with a salute, turning to head down the stairs. But moments after he disappeared, the Yakan came flying straight back up into the air with a sword stuck through him, then crashed into the floor.

Kirara gasped in surprise, and even the Nobuseri were startled. One of the Yakan, however, recovered his wits long enough to yell, "Show yourself!"

Clumping up the stairs came Kikuchiyo's headless body, and up on the platform, Kikuchiyo's head crowed out, "Hey, what took you so long?"

His body waved back cheerfully, ignoring the two Yakan that had started hitting him, then it quickly belted both of them aside and made a mad dash for the platform as Kikuchiyo yelled, "Come on, hurry it up there, body!"

A moment later, Kambei and Shichiroji emerged as well, and Kirara let out a joyful gasp. "Great Kambei, you made it!"

"Clever trick, samurai," Syusai hissed, his eyes flaring bright,"but now it ends!" Immediately several sections of the floor opened up, and from the lower chambers emerged five Raiden.

"Raiden squad, reporting!" they shouted in unison.

"They say you're quite skilled, but you're sadly outnumbered," Syusai remarked, but all Kambei did was smirk, for as if by magic, Gorobei came crashing through the ceiling, sword drawn, and he landed hard on the platform just behind Kirara and her guards. With two quick slashes, he dispatched the two Mimizuku and snatched up the pole with Kikuchiyo's head, then shouted cheerfully, "Then let's even things up a bit!"

"Yeah, let's kick his big ass!" Kikuchiyo's head chimed in.

Syusai growled, then shouted, "KILL THEM!"

"With pleasure," one of the Raiden replied, but no sooner did he turn to attack than his right arm was severed from his body, and he fell heavily into one of the other Raiden. "What the...?"

The wall beside him came crashing down, and riding one of the panels all the way to the floor was Kyuzo, swords drawn and murder in his eyes.

"KYUZO!" Syusai shouted, but all the fair-haired samurai did was growl and leap forward into the fray.

Gorobei, in the meantime, picked up Kirara and leapt down to a lower platform. "You stay right here," he told her, and she nodded.

"Whatever you say."

He picked up Kikuchiyo's head and jumped down into the thick of the combat where Shichiroji and Kambei were decimating the ranks of Mimizuku and Yakan. Grinning, he sprinted past Kikuchiyo's body and tossed his head at him with a cheerful "Heads up!"

"Yeah, funny!" Kikuchiyo remarked, grabbing his head.

Kyuzo was scything through Mimizuku one after another, whirling and twisting, until even the Mimizuku were giving him a wide berth. Kikuchiyo jammed his head back down onto his shoulders, felt the circuits link back up, and with a loud shout proclaimed, "KIKUCHIYO'S BACK! Oh, when I get my hands on you bandits, you're gonna..."

His words were cut off by a hoarse cry as a wild-eyed Katsushiro ran past him straight into the combat, skewering a Mimizuku straight into a wall.

"Oh, no... Katsushiro..." Kirara stared at Katsushiro in horror, her eyes filling with tears as she watched him cut down one Mimizuku after another, the bloodlust and fury filling his eyes until they seemed to consume him.

The samurai continued mowing down the bandits as Kikuchiyo shouted in frustration, "Hey guys, leave some for me!" He immediately dashed toward them, only to realize that he had no idea where his katana was. "Sword... sword?"

Sobei'd had enough, however, and he lifted his sword in clear challenge. "KYUZO!" he screamed, bringing the enormous weapon down with all of his strength. Kyuzo, however, merely turned and held his own katanas in guard position as the sword crashed down where he was standing.

"Kyuzo!" Kikuchiyo shouted in panic as he finally recovered his own sword, but a sudden metallic screeching made everyone turn, as Kyuzo sliced his way clear along the length of Sobei's blade, only to leap into the air and start carving up the Nobuseri leader, his blades flashing faster than the eyes could track.

"Kyuzo, go for his chest! It's his weak point!" Kambei yelled over the chaos, and Kyuzo nodded slightly to indicate that he'd heard.

"Cursed samurai," Syusai hissed, leveling his huge eight-barreled cannon at Kambei.

"I hate guns," Shichiroji sighed as Kirara gasped and Kikuchiyo hollered, "Look out!"

But as Syusai fired, Shichiroji leapt at his former commander and shoved him out of the way, so that when the smoke had cleared, a stray shot had only grazed Kambei's shoulder, while Shichiroji's mechanical arm had blocked most of the rest. The blond samurai smirked, then with a gesture, his mechanical hand shot out and lassoed the end of Syusai's cannon, pulling him into the air. He swung around with the ease of long practice, holding out his naginata, and shouted, "KYUZO-_DONO_!"

The fair-haired assassin took one of his swords between his teeth and caught hold of the naginata shaft as Shichiroji swung past. Their next swing gave Kyuzo enough momentum to slide straight past Sobei's defenses toward his chest, and even as the Nobuseri leader recoiled in horror, Kyuzo's swords were taking the huge bandit apart from the inside, and the bandit's mechanical body exploded as Kyuzo dove to safety.

Then the whole world seemed to shake as the lower half of the Nobuseri ship, its engines and navigation consoles unattended, scraped against the ground.

"I've had enough of you!" Syusai bellowed, leveling his cannon at Kambei again, but part of the ceiling collapsed and landed square on his gun arm, knocking the gun harmlessly aside.

Levels below, Heihachi was running like mad, screaming in panic as the engine room exploded into flames behind him.

One of the lower extensions of the Nobuseri ship disappeared in a burst of fire and smoke, and the farmers of Kanna watched in amazement and horror as the ship began to tilt forward precariously.

Syusai, however, had not given up on killing Kambei, and he managed to recover his weapon and aim it at Kambei once more. But the samurai charged at the bandit, reversing his grip on his katana, and shoved the sword straight into the barrel just as Syusai fired. The backlash blew out the cannon, but Kambei was thrown halfway across the chamber and slid across the floor in pain.

"Great samurai!" Kirara shrieked in horror, but then the platform she was on shuddered and tilted, and she was pitched screaming toward the floor far below.

"LADY KIRARA!" Katsushiro howled, diving for her, and with the last of his strength, he hurled himself across the room and caught the girl as she fell. She collapsed against him, sobbing as her composure finally snapped.

His mechanical body damaged and sparking, Syusai turned to study Kambei. "You... in the Great War, who did you serve?" he asked the samurai, but Kambei placidly stared back, his hand clutching his shoulder where the shot had grazed him. "From your tattered appearance, you must have fought on the losing side!"

Kambei still said nothing, but just smiled calmly at the bandit leader.

Just then, Heihachi came sprinting out from the lower levels. "Everybody, move!" he shouted over the noise, just as an explosion sent him sprawling forward to the floor.

"Heihachi!" Shichiroji called, starting forward, but the mechanic waved him back.

"Get out of here, she's gonna blow!"

Kambei was on his feet in an instant, calling orders. "Shichiroji, find us a way out of here!"

"Sure thing!" He ran toward the viewport and swiftly assessed the landscape.

"You should get moving as well," Kambei told Kikuchiyo, who barged past him with a "Hey, don't need to tell me!"

Bracing himself in the open space with his naginata, Shichiroji could see a tree growing out of the mountainside, and fired his mechanical hand at it to lasso it and pull it down like a makeshift bridge. Kikuchiyo came up behind him and planted one foot on Shichiroji's naginata to hold it in place, as Kyuzo, Heihachi, Kirara and Katsushiro fled across the bridge to safety.

"We did it!" Kikuchiyo crowed, but Shichiroji shook his head.

"Not quite yet!"

"Oh! What do you mean?"

"You're the anchor, big guy!" Shichiroji explained, then he glanced over his shoulder. "KAMBEI-_SAMA_!"

Kambei had reclaimed his sword and was staring implacably at the bandit leader who lay wounded on the chamber floor.

"Samurai relic," Syusai rumbled in disgust, but Kambei just bowed.

"I am indeed a samurai," he murmured, then he turned on his heel, and leapt over Shichiroji and Kikuchiyo. "We're done here!"

"Take your time there, Kambei!" Kikuchiyo called, and he lifted his foot and pulled Shichiroji to his feet.

"Let's move!" the pilot shouted, and together, he and Kikuchiyo dashed across the tree, but behind them, the Nobuseri ship gave a mighty shudder as it hit the cliff face, throwing both of them forward into the cliff face, and then the ship descended into the canyon with an almighty crash, a booming explosion, and a smothering cloud of black smoke while the samurai and Kirara clung desperately to the cliffside.

As the smoke cleared, Shichiroji was revealed to be hanging slackly in Kikuchiyo's grip, the big machine samurai having driven his katana into the cliff and grabbing the back of Shichiroji's coat. The pilot gave a heaving sigh. "So, this is it, huh? This is how it all ends for Shichiroji? Hanging off the side of a canyon? I must be losing my touch!"

"What, you want me to drop you or something?" Kikuchiyo laughed. "'Cause I will!" But Shichiroji immediately began to thrash around indignantly.

"Whoa, hey, come on! Let's not do anything rash!"

* * *

Near Kanna, the farmers and the samurai were not the only ones watching the wreckage of the Nobuseri ship smolder and burn. 

"It would seem that we have been deceived."

"So it would appear. We should have known better than to believe those wretched farmers."

"What do you mean?"

"That is the work of samurai. Somehow they managed to escape and are turning everything upside down."

"Orders?"

"We will finish what they started. Prepare to raze Kanna Village to the ground. No survivors."

* * *

"Great samurai!" The panicked cry went up all over Kanna Village, and Nasami looked up from where she was supervising the storage of the rice she and the farmers had taken from the wreck of the Nobuseri ship. 

"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked in alarm as Rikichi, followed by several of the other farmers, came running for her as though hell itself were chasing them.

"Bandits! The bandits are coming!"

Her eyes narrowed. "How many?"

Gozaku was gasping for breath. "At least thirty Yakan, fifteen Mimizuku, and five Raiden that we saw!"

"Well, well, well," the samuraiko said quietly. "It seems that the Nobuseri aren't as stupid as they appear at times."

"What do you mean?" Yohei stammered.

"They're reinforcements. If my guess is correct, the Nobuseri were planning to destroy Kanna anyway, and the ones on their way here were to make sure that you were all dead and then take whatever was salvageable." She turned to Gozaku. "How long until they get there?"

"They'll be here in less than ten minutes!" he replied.

Nasami closed her eyes for just a moment and drew a deep breath, then she released it, opened her eyes, and began shouting orders to all of the farmers within earshot.

"All of you, listen to me! I want the women and children to head to the water priestess' home! Those of you storing rice, drop what you're doing and grab your bows! I want every single archer in this clearing in three minutes! And if anyone sees Shino, I want her here, and I mean right now!"

Accustomed to obeying the samurai's instructions without question, the women immediately gathered their children and headed once again for the Mikumari's house, while most of the men ran for the hut where the weapons were stored. Shino arrived a few moments later, drawn by her sensei's shouts, carrying her naginata.

"What are we going to do, great samurai?" Mosuke yelped in panic.

Nasami looked at him in mild surprise. "You have to ask? We're going to fight."

"But how?" Rikichi protested, his eyes huge. "You're the only samurai here! The only true swordsman! There's no way we can do this!"

"Then allow me to put this into terms that farmers can understand," the samuraiko said softly, and drew her katana. She turned to the farmers and met their eyes, one at a time. "The next person who says this cannot be done will die by my hands, not the Nobuseri's. Are we clear?"

Every single farmer went white, but Nasami did not look away.

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

The Nobuseri arrived at the outskirts of Kanna Village, and stopped in surprise. 

Standing arrayed against them in a line were at least three dozen farmers armed with bows, arrows nocked. About twenty feet in front of the farmers was a woman with long white hair, wearing armor and wielding a katana. Standing just behind her and slightly to her left was a peasant girl holding a naginata at the ready.

"And what do we have here?" the Raiden leader boomed in a rumbling voice.

The samuraiko leveled her katana at the Nobuseri in a clear gesture of challenge. "You will not enter Kanna," she called out. "Leave now, or be cut down."

"Samurai filth, who do you think you are?" one of the other Raiden hissed.

"Who am I?" she repeated, taking a step forward. "I am the one who is going to destroy you absolutely. I am the one who is going to end the miserable lives of every single bandit who dares advance on this village while I live. I am the one who is going to use your remains as a pyre to warn anyone against taking what is not theirs."

"And you think you can do all that by yourself?" the Raiden leader said in clear amusement. "You are one, we are fifty."

"I am one," she replied softly, taking her stance as her katana gleamed in the late afternoon sun, "but I am _samurai_."

"Kill her!" the leader shouted, and with that, the Yakan foot soldiers and Mimizuku charged.

"FOR KANNA!" the samuraiko shouted, raising her katana, and the farmers lifted their bows to their shoulders, drew back the strings, aimed, and fired. A wave of arrows slammed into the attacking bandits, momentarily slowing them, and in that instant, Nasami leapt forward into their midst. Moving and twisting like a dervish, she cut down enemy after enemy, ignoring the arrows that rained down around her.

"Nasami-_sama_!" Rikichi yelped, but the samuraiko barely spared him a glance over her shoulder.

"Keep firing, damn you!" she yelled. "Don't worry about hitting me, be more concerned with hitting _them_!"

"Cursed samurai!" one of the other Raiden shouted, advancing forward. Nasami whirled around, cleanly decapitating another Mimizuku, and took a defensive stance against the Raiden, but the Yakan and Mimizuku around her moved in to press their advantage.

"FOR _SENSEI_!" Shino screamed, following Nasami into battle, swinging her naginata as she had been taught, disarming Mimizuku and Yakan soldiers alike as they swarmed around Nasami.

"FOR SANAE!" Rikichi yelled, nocking a fresh arrow, as did the other farmers, and this time their arrows were directed at another of the Raiden, who fell back against the onslaught of arrows. Nasami launched herself into the air, and as she fell, she methodically took apart the Raiden that had challenged her as the farmers' arrows finally felled their target. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she was moving again, scything her way through the remaining Mimizuku and Yakan.

"Samurai whore!" the fourth Raiden shouted. "How dare you defy us?" He lifted his sword, but he was not aiming at Nasami.

Instead, he turned and prepared to kill the farmers where they stood.

"NOOOOOO!" Nasami howled, breaking off her attack against the last of the Yakan and Mimizuku to attack the Raiden before the blow could fall. But no sooner did she turn than one of the Mimizuku lifted his own katana and stabbed viciously at her vulnerable back.

"_Sensei_!" Shino screamed, concern for the samuraiko overriding any sense of self-preservation, and she swung the naginata with all of her might, carving the Mimizuku in half. Nasami, in the meantime, snatched up one of the Mimizuku's katanas and flung it straight at the Raiden's head, blinding him as the blade connected with his eyes. He let out a mechanical shriek of pain, dropping his sword, and Nasami cut his legs out from under him, then cut him neatly in half.

"For that," the Raiden leader said, his voice harsh, "I will kill all the peasants first, and then you!"

Faster than even Nasami could react, he brought his katana down and the peasants scattered as the earth trembled from the force of the blow. Several of the farmers fell, others tumbled out of the way while still more dragged their friends away.

Rikichi, however, had been so overwhelmed by the sight of the bandit leader that he had frozen, and had narrowly avoided being sliced in half. He crouched on the ground, frightened as he had not been since that day in the Shikimoribito caverns and a Raiden had turned his attention to him.

And the Raiden leader lifted his katana once more. "You... yes... I recognize you. Foolish peasant, you so eagerly courted death before, so I will give it to you now!"

Rikichi stared up at the Raiden, paralyzed in terror at the sight of the enormous blade poised to come crashing down. He couldn't run, couldn't think... 

Then the sword descended, and he instinctively closed his eyes.

The blow never landed, but suddenly there was a deafening scream of fury and an almighty clang. The farmer's eyes opened wide in disbelief at the sight of Nasami standing over him like an avenging angel, her katana braced over her head where she had deflected away the blow.

"If you want him, you'll have to go through me," she hissed through gritted teeth, staring up defiantly at the enormous bandit. Her arms trembled with the effort of keeping the sword aloft, but she did not lower her weapon.

"G-great samurai," Rikichi whispered, but Nasami ignored him.

"Get out of the way, little girl," the Raiden growled at her, pressing down harder on his katana and forcing the samuraiko to her knees, but she refused to yield. Abruptly he lifted the sword and again swung it downward, but again she blocked his attack, crying out in pain as the force of the swing nearly crushed her into the ground.

"I said YIELD!" the Raiden shouted, but with a supreme act of will, the samuraiko rose to her feet and lifted her head to meet his gaze directly.

"The _hell_ I will, you Nobuseri _bastard_!"

She twisted her katana so that the Nobuseri's sword slid harmlessly to one side, leapt up onto the blade and ran straight along its length.

"Damn you!" the bandit shouted, drawing back his weapon in an attempt to make her fall, but no sooner did he raise the sword than she sprang into the air, her katana flashing in the sunlight, and beheaded the Raiden in a single perfect stroke. As his body exploded, she was thrown to the ground, landing in a crumpled heap, her katana embedded into the earth beside her.

"_Sensei_!" came Shino's cry, and she dropped her naginata to rush to the samuraiko's side. Rikichi was hot on her heels, the other farmers close behind him. For a long moment, they feared the worst, but then Nasami stirred groggily and stared up at them.

"Told you..." she murmured, her faint laughter mixing with the smoke and flames that tainted the field around them.

"Why did you do it, great samurai?" Rikichi asked her, crouching beside her and helping her to her feet. "I mean... you could have been killed, defending me like that!"

"That is what... samurai are for," she said, wincing as she held her ribs. "But we should go and greet the other samurai. They should be arriving shortly... and we have much to tell them."

_To be continued_...


	30. The Calm Before the Storm

_Note: Oddly enough, this was a chapter that came to me long after I had first watched this episode. I tried hard to think what Nasami would be thinking, feeling, and doing on that last, windswept, stormy night before the Nobuseri arrive once again. Then suddenly it hit me, and out came the chapter. Also, __now that I think on it, the scene between Nasami and Kyuzo is almost the reverse of the discussion between Heihachi and Katsushiro._

_And when you think about it, even knowing how Nasami feels about Kambei, and knowing that Kyuzo intends to kill him, wouldn't she put her own feelings aside to do what must be done?_

_Took me ages, but I finally get to use one of my other favorite scores... Chapter Thirty's music is "The Leaving/The Search" from Basil Poledouris' score for CONAN THE BARBARIAN._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Thirty_

Nasami and the peasants headed for the ridge, where the samurai were slowly making their way toward Kanna. The farmers gave out cries of relief and delight at the sight of their saviors, while Komachi shoved several of them out of the way, calling for Kirara.

"What's up with the bonfire?" Heihachi asked, pointing toward the edge of the village, where black tendrils of smoke curled up into the sky.

"Nobuseri funeral pyre," Nasami said cheerfully.

"Say what?" Kikuchiyo looked puzzled.

"While you were gone, we were attacked," the samuraiko replied, slowly coming forward to address the other samurai. Her eyes searched the group, and immediately noticed Kyuzo's absence. As her gaze met Shichiroji's, he tilted his head slightly back the way they had come, and she nodded to show she understood. "The Nobuseri had a contigent of reinforcements nearby, and when they saw the other ship come down, they came here."

"Any casualties?" Gorobei asked in concern, but the Elder shook his head.

"Thankfully, no... except for Nasami-_sama_. Several of us were shaken up when the Raiden attacked, but she was true to her word and protected us from harm."

"You were injured, Nasami-_dono_?" Katsushiro asked in alarm, moving forward, but she waved him off.

"I'm fine, Katsushiro, don't worry about me. This is nothing that some sleep won't help."

"How many?" Kambei asked, his voice low, his eyes sweeping back and forth across the area.

"Fifty in all." The samuraiko's voice was matter-of-fact, but even she could not hide a smug grin.

Kikuchiyo nearly fell over in astonishment. "You took out _fifty_ bandits by yourself?"

Nasami shook her head, and gestured toward the farmers. "No. _They _did. I just helped."

"What?" Gozaku said in surprise. "What did we do?"

"You held your ground and didn't panic. You kept your heads and provided archery cover for me while I attacked. You also took down several of those Mimizuku and Yakan, and even a Raiden by yourselves."

"Don't you believe it, great samurai," Rikichi said, coming forward to stand beside the samuraiko. "Nasami-_sama_ organized the whole thing, and took down four Raiden on her own! It was unbelievable!" His voice dropped, and he looked at the ground. "And... when I panicked... she... she risked her life to save mine..."

"No life is too small," Nasami murmured to herself.

"Well done, Nasami-_san_," Kambei said at last, but from the tense set of his jaw, she guessed that she would be hearing more on the subject later. "It appears you were right about remaining behind. And that makes our task easier, if we need not worry about Nobuseri reinforcements."

Rikichi turned his attention to the other samurai. "Great samurai, we can never thank you enough for this. The Nobuseri have finally been beaten!" Then he stopped, finally noticing that one of the samurai was missing. "But... where's Kyuzo?"

"Scouting the enemy," Kambei replied, and all of the peasants recoiled. It was clear from the looks on their faces that all of them were hoping that they had heard wrong.

"They will be back, you know," Shichiroji told them.

"What for?" Yohei asked, startled.

"Why would they? Just look what you did to them!" Gozaku added, pointing off into the distance where the second Nobuseri ship had crashed in the canyon.

"They lost!" Yohei went on. "They'd be too afraid to come back, right?"

"That's not how they work," Kambei said quietly, and all of the peasants looked disheartened.

"Those who have been wounded want only one thing, and that's revenge," Shichiroji said, looking somber. We have no doubts that they will be back. It's just a matter of when. But they're desperate now."

Kambei met the farmers' eyes. "Will you be ready to face them?"

No one spoke, but the Elder stepped forward and nodded.

* * *

Later that afternoon, as Kambei was leaving the Elder's house, deep in thought, he was distracted by several loud shouts from the clearing where Kyuzo had trained the farmers in archery. Curious, he headed toward the open field, and found Nasami and several of the farmers training once again. This time, however, she was not instructing them with bow and arrow, but in sword and spear technique instead. Kambei stopped in surprise, watching as she led them through the basics - how to hold the weapon, how to position the feet, and standard attack and defense postures. 

Some of the farmers held a length of bamboo roughly the length of a katana, others the length of a spear, and the peasants were paired off with one another while the samuraiko moved among them, offering advice. The pace was relentless, and Nasami drilled them mercilessly, but not one of the peasants complained.

"What are you doing?" Kambei blurted out, startled, and the farmers and Nasami stopped and turned.

The samuraiko grinned. "Taking advantage of Nobuseri generosity."

Kambei looked puzzled, so Nasami pointed off to one side, where on the back of a cart rested several dozen swords and spears. As she did so, Rikichi emerged from the woods, came up to her and bowed. "Great samurai, we've finished stocking the rice we took from the Nobuseri ship. As you instructed, we've made sure not to store it all in one place, in case the Nobuseri find it."

"Excellent," she said in satisfaction. "Once the bandits are dealt with, we'll divide it up and send some to each of the surrounding villages. In the meantime, I'd like you to take swords to the men at Gorobei's post. Some of the other men have already been given spears; they will not need swords."

"Yes, Nasami-_sama_," Rikichi replied, transferring a half-dozen swords to a smaller cart and heading off toward the small cliff where Gorobei and some farmers were fortifying Kanna's defenses.

The samurai looked from the weapons to Nasami, then to the farmers and back at her again. "Do I even _want_ to know what you've been up to while we were gone?"

Nasami just smirked.

Just then, Kikuchiyo came dashing through the clearing, chasing several laughing and shouting children, including Okara and Komachi. "RRRAAARRRGGGHHH! I'm coming after you!" he bellowed, waving his arms melodramatically, and the children raced off into the woods with Kikuchiyo hot on their heels. Nasami, Kambei, and the farmers stared nonplussed after him, and then the samuraiko burst out laughing.

"Well, at least someone's having a good time!"

"At any rate, Shichiroji and I are on our way to Kirara's house for a quick meal. Would you care to join us?"

"Certainly, just let me finish up here, and I'll meet you there."

* * *

Shino, Kirara, and a few of the other women were quietly laughing at the water priestess' house about Kikuchiyo's antics when Kambei and Shichiroji arrived. To the women's surprise, Kambei quietly refused to partake of the rice offered; instead, he sat and calmly accepted the bowl that Kirara handed to him. 

Shichiroji leaned over in curiosity, "Is that firefly gruel?" he asked in surprise.

Kambei nodded. "I had a certain craving for it today."

"Are you sure you want that?" Shino asked dubiously, picking up the tray of riceballs and holding it out to him once more. "We have plenty for everyone."

"White rice prepares a man's body, but only firefly gruel prepares his soul," Kambei replied, sipping from the bowl, his eyes closed as he focused on his food. Once he had drained the bowl, he sat quietly for a moment, then opened his eyes and looked at Kirara. "Kirara... Shichiroji, too."

The water priestess started, but then ladled some gruel into a second bowl and handed it to the blond samurai. "Here you go."

"All right, if you insist," Shichiroji said reluctantly, taking the bowl and a pair of chopsticks. As he ate, he grimaced at the taste, and Kambei gave a faint smile.

"The people of Kanna Village are like this firefly gruel, Shichiroji; a simpler food often ignored or thrown aside for the heartier grain. And we samurai are the cup - a symbol of our duty to protect those less fortunate than ourselves. Understand?"

"I understand that you're as kind as ever," Shichiroji replied, and Kambei grinned ruefully.

"Perhaps that's why I keep losing battles."

Meanwhile three of the village boys were cheerfully scarfing down riceballs, enjoying the rare treat of white rice as Shichiroji laughed.

"I wanna grow up big and strong so I can be a samurai like you!" one of the boys said cheerfully.

"Me too!"

"Me three!"

That got Kambei's attention. "And why do you want to become a samurai?"

"Because you samurai are really strong!" announced one of the boys, waving his arms in his enthusiasm.

"And you can totally kill all of the bandits, easy!" chimed in another.

"You really think you want to be like me?" Kambei asked in quiet surprise, and the boys stared.

"You're surprised?" came Nasami's voice, and Kambei, Shichiroji, and the others glanced up to see the samuraiko standing in the doorway. She sighed and shook her head, her foxtail swaying from side to side. "You never learn, do you?"

Kirara bowed to her, then shot a sidelong glance at Kambei, holding up the ladle. "Should I...?"

"Yes, please serve Nasami some as well."

Nasami arched her eyebrows, but Kambei indicated that she should accept it, so with a shrug, she approached, and Kirara offered her a bowl of firefly gruel.

"If you prefer, _sensei_, we also have rice," Shino offered tentatively.

"No, thank you, Shino." With a smile, Nasami lifted the bowl in a silent toast to Kambei and Shichiroji, then sipped at the gruel. Like the blond samurai, she grimaced slightly as she drank.

"So what is it that I never learn?" Kambei asked her, while Shino, Kirara, and the other women excused themselves to deliver the riceballs to the village men, the boys trailing after them demanding more rice.

The samuraiko shrugged, ladling herself more gruel. "Why should I bother telling you? You wouldn't listen to me anyway."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

"And how do you know?"

"You don't listen to Shichiroji, and he's been your best friend and fellow samurai for how many years?" Then she focused on her meal, giving every indication that the conversation was closed.

Kambei just sat back and watched her, while Shichiroji looked from one to the other, wondering which of them would give in first. At last, Nasami finished her gruel, set down the bowl, stood, bowed to the two samurai, and stepped off the platform.

"Well?" Kambei asked just as she reached the door.

Nasami stopped in the doorway, but did not turn around. "There is a saying my _sensei_ used to quote to me. 'True nobility comes not from being superior to another man...'"

She paused, then glanced back over her shoulder. "'...but from being superior to your past.'"

With that, she left.

* * *

Meanwhile, Katsushiro was making the rounds of the cliffs, giving what he believed to be motivational speeches to the farmers there. However, in mid-speech, a voice came from above him. 

"You know you're just making them nervous, right?"

Katsushiro looked up, as did the farmers, and saw Heihachi come sliding down the scree to land beside Katsushiro, smiling placidly.

"Heihachi-_dono_, how can you act so casual?" Katsushiro protested. "_Sensei_ told us the war is not yet over!"

Heihachi ignored the question, however, to turn to Gozaku and the other two farmers who were holding their spears and looking overwhelmed. "Are you guys scared?"

The three peasants nodded.

Katsushiro scoffed and looked away. "Fine, but I'm not scared!"

"No?" Heihachi asked softly. "Then you must not be seeing things very clearly."

That drew Katsushiro's attention back, and he looked at the woodcutter with a puzzled expression.

Heihachi sighed to himself, recognizing a lot of himself in the younger samurai. "Katsushiro... when you have taken a life, you've never looked your opponent in the eye, have you?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Katsushiro asked defensively.

"You know, before we fought the bandits, I'd never taken a life either. It's no secret that you and I have less battle experience than the other samurai; that's a bond we share. And like you, when this war began, I was seeing things through different eyes. I couldn't see the enemy clearly. But something in my memory poked to the surface. You know where it came from? The battlefield... Long ago, I was in a place just like this. When I realized that, I felt at ease. It was like.. I was home again. You know?"

"Now you can see... your enemy?" Katsushiro asked softly, hesitantly.

Heihachi nodded. "Yes... and I have no more doubts. That's where you and I differ. You're growing more passionate, and I'm just growing more cynical."

"But Heihachi-_dono_, you'd never end up as bitter as Honoka or Manzo."

Heihachi's mouth twisted into a bitter smile, and he rested his hand over his heart. "Betrayal leaves a wound far worse than any sword, Katsushiro. Regardless of the reason, it can never be justified. The pain of betrayal remains in the traitor's heart, and it never goes away." Abruptly he lifted his head and turned to look above him, as did Katsushiro and the farmers, to see Kambei and Shichiroji standing there.

"_Sensei_!" Katsushiro called out in surprise.

"When did you get here?" Heihachi asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, around 'like I was home again,'" Shichiroji said with a chuckle, and adeptly, he and Kambei slid down the rock to land beside the other two samurai, Shichiroji expertly holding a tray in one hand with two bowls balanced on it.

"Man, you guys are everywhere," Heihachi said with a grin. Then he peered closer at the tray. "Is that...?"

"Firefly gruel," Shichiroji said cheerfully, and the farmers groaned. "Don't worry, it's not for you," he reassured them.

"A samurai toast before battle," Kambei explained.

"A samurai toast?" Heihachi was intrigued, but as he reached for a bowl, a faint clattering caught his attention. In an instant, the four samurai had their hands on their weapons, while the farmers shrank back against the rock face. Kambei carefully crouched down to peer through the fences they had built, Shichiroji leaning over him protectively, while Katsushiro and Heihachi stepped back to protect the farmers. The clattering grew steadily louder, slightly uneven in rhythm.

"What is it, great samurai?" Gozaku asked hesitantly, but Kambei hushed him.

"Be quiet."

Shichiroji listened a few moments longer, then murmured, "He's alone."

"Yes..." Kambei replied quietly, peering into the mist below the plateau, when suddenly out of the fog sprang Kyuzo, an enormous cannon across his shoulders, and the blade of one of his katanas held between his teeth. Gracefully he came to a landing atop one of the posts, perfectly balanced, almost as though waiting for applause, were it in his nature. He did, however, momentarily enjoy the surprise on all of the others' faces before tossing the cannon to Heihachi, who staggered under its weight.

"Kyuzo-_dono_!" Katsushiro blurted out, astonished, as the red-clad samurai leapt down and resheathed his sword.

"Think we can use it?" he asked Heihachi, who was already peering at the weapon.

"I'll check it out!"

Kambei nodded his greetings to the assassin. "Good work, Kyuzo."

"I took out a Raiden," Kyuzo replied, all business despite his clear exhaustion, and ignoring the wide-eyed admiration he was suddenly getting from Katsushiro. "Thirty remain, mostly Yakan and Tobito. A few Yoroi."

Kambei looked thoughtful, balancing that information against the damage that they had already done inside the Nobuseri ship, and what Nasami and the farmers had faced earlier. "When will they be here?"

"By tomorrow. I need sleep." And with that, he scaled the steep incline, leaving the others behind.

* * *

Kyuzo stalked along the path, heading for the sacred grove where he could have a few minutes of peace and quiet. Along the way, as he passed several of the peasants, many of them just bowed and continued with their work, sensing that the samurai was in no mood for conversation, praise, or questions. 

As he entered the woods, however, he passed Nasami as she patrolled along the ridge, and her eyes brightened when she saw him.

"Kyuzo-_sama_... I'm glad to see that you're all right. But you look exhausted."

"I need sleep," he admitted. "I'll be in the grove if you need me."

"Of course," she said quietly, reaching into the folds of her robe to draw out some of her rice rations and a flask of water. "Here, take these. I'll get some more when I return to Rikichi's house."

Kyuzo opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head. "You need to eat more than I do right now. It's either you take these, or I come to the grove in a little while with a tray."

The fair-haired samurai nodded at last. "Wake me in two hours for my watch."

Two hours later, Nasami moved quietly through the sacred grove. Eventually she spotted Kyuzo sleeping beneath a tree, arms folded across his chest, and she stopped several feet away and just watched him sleep. For a moment, her eyes became sad, and she sighed to herself, then she carefully sat beside him. To her considerable surprise, he did not react when she approached, nor when she sat down, but instead continued to doze. However, as she watched, his eyes slowly opened, then turned toward her. His brow furrowed momentarily, clearly surprised that she had been able to approach him without him sensing her presence, but the look disappeared almost as quickly as it had come.

"Clever trick," he said softly, and she smiled.

"You said to wake you in two hours," she replied as he sat up, but although he tried to hide it, she caught the flash of pain in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

He debated telling her, then with a sigh, he drew back the folds of his trenchcoat, and she could see where he had taken a stray shot along his side. Blood had caked along the wound, sticking the dark material of his bodysuit to his lean frame. Her breath caught in her throat, and she moved to peer closer at the injury.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"It doesn't hurt."

She didn't bother answering that one, merely contenting herself with glaring at him as she studied the wound. Then she got to her feet and vanished into the woods. Kyuzo leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes again, and about five minutes later, Nasami arrived again, this time holding a small pot of steaming water and several bandages.

"I don't need help," he said curtly, but she pushed his hands aside and began to tend to the wound.

"It'd be just your luck to avoid getting ambushed, cut down, or having a Raiden fall on you, only to die of septicemia. Now hush and let me work."

Kyuzo shot her a glare that she ignored, but when he realized that she wasn't going to go away, he leaned back and let her poke and prod.

"Damn," she cursed abruptly, her fingers encountering a lump that shouldn't have been there, "the bullet is still in there. I'm sorry, but it's going to have to come out." Her eyes met his directly.

For a long time they stared at one another, then he turned away and presented her his side, gripping the saya of his katanas tightly. "Do it."

She carefully drew her tanto and cleaned it using the hot water she had brought, then with a deep breath, she placed the edge of the blade against his skin where the bullet was embedded. His breath hissed out between his teeth and his eyes closed, but he made no other sound as she worked. Finally after what felt like hours, chanting a soft prayer to Amaterasu the entire time, she worked the bullet free, then carefully cleaned the wound, sewed it up, and bandaged it.

"Finished," she said faintly, and Kyuzo nodded. It had actually been surprisingly painless once she had begun, and he felt remarkably better. But suddenly he was startled by a faint thud, and as he turned around, he was surprised to see that Nasami had dropped the tanto to the ground and had her arms around herself, shaking.

"What's wrong?" he asked, cautiously sitting up and staring at her. Her eyes were huge with pain and exhaustion, her face pale in the fading light of the evening.

"N-nothing, I'll be f-fine," she gasped, nearly doubling over.

"Like hell," Kyuzo hissed, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder and force her upright. His eyes swept over her, but he saw no sign of injury, nothing to indicate what might be wrong. In a flash, his eyes searched the grove, wondering if a Mimizuku assassin had managed to infiltrate the village somehow, but there was no blood, no wound, nothing other than this sudden pallor and fatigue on her face that hadn't been there when she started.

At his confusion, she smiled weakly. "My d-duty is to protect. But s-sometimes the only way I c-can protect someone is t-to give that person my s-strength."

Suddenly it hit him - her quiet chanting, the lack of pain, and her own sudden exhaustion and weakness. He didn't know how she had done it, but somehow, in those long minutes where she had removed the bullet and treated his wound, she had literally given him her own strength so that he could continue fighting, but for her to do it for him...

"Why?" he whispered, staring into her eyes, even as her eyes began to drift shut.

"B-because... you're the... b-better swordsman... if s-something happens... they'll n-need you... more than... they'll need m-me... Wake me... in t-two hours..." With that, she slid to the ground, unconscious.

"Damn you," he said softly, even as he caught her when she fell. For a moment, he was surprised at how light she was, but he carefully guided her down so that she was lying in the curve of the base of the tree. Then he picked up her tanto, cleaned it using the water and remaining bandages, and placed it beside her hand so it was within easy reach. A quick glance down showed that she had treated his wound well; with luck, it would leave only the faintest of scars, and she had managed to bind it in a way that would not restrict his movements too much.

Then, with a sigh, he leaned back against the tree and looked down at her.

"Thank you."

* * *

Much later that night, Katsushiro was walking alone through the woods when he came upon Kirara. For a moment he stopped, just quietly admiring her in the moonlight, when she suddenly turned and saw him. 

As they walked together, Katsushiro told her about the conversation he'd had earlier with Heihachi, and his own struggles to understand what it meant to truly be samurai.

"And then Heihachi-_dono_ said, 'You've never looked your opponent in the eye, have you?' And he's right. My hands still don't feel like they've killed. I get this rage, and my body's on fire. I can't feel my feet on the ground. And I..." He tried to make sense of what he felt, deliberately forcing his mind back to those terrible, eternal moments during battle when the song of the sword and the screaming of his own rage blotted out everything else.

For a little while, they walked in silence, and then he went on. "I guess it's better than nothing, but I should be calm... like _sensei_ is. Like Kyuzo-_dono_ is. Like Nasami-_dono_ is. But I don't think I'll ever be able to wield my sword like them. I'll never be... strong like them." The reality of it all hit him all at once, and he stopped in mid-stride, watching Kirara as she walked a few steps on when she suddenly realized that he had stopped, and she turned around to face him. Then her eyes widened, stunned at the absolute sorrow and longing she saw in Katsushiro's eyes, even as a cloud drifted across the moon and cast his face in shadow.

"And that's why... why I can't let you fall with me any more..." Katsushiro whispered, every word breaking his heart a little more.

For a long, long time, neither of them spoke, the sadness between them so strong it was almost tangible in the air. But then suddenly both of them lifted their heads to gaze toward the sky, as the storm that had been building all evening finally hit.

Then Katsushiro started running.

Near the riverbank, Kambei and Shichiroji were also watching the sky as the first raindrops began to fall, then Kambei walked over to the cart that he'd had brought here from the clearing where Nasami had been training the farmers. One by one, he began shoving unsheathed swords into the mud, sticking them upright to make them easier to grab.

Kikuchiyo saw him and wandered over. "Whatcha doing?"

"In case our own swords should break," Kambei replied. Then he looked up at the big machine samurai. "I want a good battle."

Kikuchiyo saluted him. "Right... you can count on that."

In the woods, Kyuzo became aware of the rumbling of machines, and through the fog and rain could just barely make out shapes approaching Kanna. He reached down and shook Nasami, and like the seasoned warrior she was, she was awake in an instant, her hand reaching for her katana. Following his gaze, she also saw the approaching figures, then she turned back to him and nodded. He pulled her to her feet, and together they began to run.

"_SENSEI_! THEY'RE HERE! _SENSEI_!" Katsushiro shouted as he ran, sword in hand, for he had also seen the enemy making its way toward the village.

Kambei remained still, his eyes on the skies, and drew in a single deep breath, then let it out.

"It's time..."

_To be continued_...


	31. There is No Death

_Note: To get into the proper mindset as I wrote, I remembered how it felt role-playing a similar scene in our 'Legend of the Five Rings' game, called "The Battle of Twilight Honor." (This is the battle referenced in the notes on Chapter 22, "All Things are Possible.") Twilight Honor was one of Nasami's darkest trials (four days of no sleep, non-stop fighting, dwindling supplies, death and dying all around her, having to retreat time and again just to stay alive, forced to abandon her post and her duty of defending the Wall, and THEN she had to kill her own commander)._

_The title of the chapter comes from a quote from a collection of maxims, quotes, and proverbs we created in our L5R game. The whole quote, which later became our group motto, goes: _

_"For cowards, there is no life;  
F__or samurai, there is no death."_

_The music is the phenomenal "The Bridge of Khazad Dum" from Howard Shore's score to LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING._

_Side note: I just found a video on YouTube done for S7 that uses music from THE LAST SAMURAI... and I was in awe at one of the later shots (this has to be on DVD 7) of Kikuchiyo, Kyuzo, and Kambei standing on a ship of some kind, just staring forward as they race into battle. I froze the frame there and just stared open-mouthed._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Thirty-One_

Kyuzo and Nasami ran along one of the forest paths, eyes darting back and forth for any signs of advance scouts.

"They won't be up here," Nasami panted. "They'll be down by the cliffs, there's more room to hide down there."

"There or the fields," Kyuzo replied, giving no indication of being out of breath.

The sound of footsteps brought both of them to a halt, and through the mist and rain, the two samurai saw two mounted Mimizuku charging toward them with bows drawn and arrows nocked.

"Okay, so I was wrong," Nasami laughed, drawing her katana and taking up her stance, but Kyuzo's eyes widened as two arrows raced straight toward them, each one carrying a roundish shape just before the arrowhead.

In a flash, he sheathed both of his swords, grabbed the samuraiko, and threw her to the ground, landing on top of her just as the arrows slammed into the trees where they had been standing. Nasami's protests were drowned out by the roar of the explosion as the grenades attached to the arrows detonated, sending a wash of heat and flame over them both. Both samurai were dimly aware of the Mimizuku riding off, and after pausing long enough to make sure more grenades weren't coming their way, they got to their feet.

"Bastards," Nasami spat, wiping mud off her face and shaking her head to stop her ears from ringing. "Those damned things were banned at the end of the war." She immediately turned to Kyuzo, her eyes sweeping over him to make sure he was all right. "Are you-?"

"Fine."

The look in his eyes told her to drop it, so she remained silent, then bowed. "Thank you... Kyuzo-_sama_."

He nodded slightly. "I'll go after them. You warn the outposts."

"Done. Good hunting."

"And you."

As they reached the edge of the forest, they split up, Kyuzo pursuing the Mimizuku, Nasami heading toward the nearest defense post along the cliffs.

* * *

In the center of the village, Kambei, Shichiroji, and Katsushiro studied the map of Kanna Village while assessing how the enemy might attack. 

"Coming up the waterfall is basic military strategy," Shichiroji mused.

Katsushiro was skeptical. "Even in this storm?"

Kambei did not take his eyes off the map. "The Nobuseri have learned now what we samurai can do, but they also know that farmers are vulnerable. They'll use any tactic they can to intimidate and break their fighting spirit."

Shichiroji nodded his agreement. "A waterfall's a difficult path for anybody to take... and this downpour'll make it even tougher. But think of the advantages - they can hide in the mist, and their approach won't be heard over the roar of the water. It's the kind of surprise attack that sends farmers screaming."

"But if it's such a basic strategy, won't they expect us to have special defenses for it?"

Kambei smiled slightly. "That's very well said, Katsushiro. You're beginning to reason like a strategist after all." He gestured down at the map, and the younger samurai leaned closer to look at it. "You must put yourself in the enemy's camp. If _you_ were attacking this fortress, what would _you_ do?"

But before Katsushiro could answer, Rikichi came sprinting toward them. "The bandits!" he shouted. "They're here!"

The three samurai looked up just as he arrived, panting and out of breath. "On the western cliff, I saw a Raiden and eight Mimizuku foot soldiers! We've seen ten Mimizuku on the southern path, and twelve more up north, plus three armored Yakan units!"

"That many?" Katsushiro said in dismay and Shichiroji sighed in frustration.

"Those foot soldiers have proven to be tougher than we expected. It looks like we're in for one heck of a battle."

Kambei, however, quietly began notating the enemy's numbers on the map, in order to keep track of who was coming from where, and how to best deploy the farmers and the other samurai. What concerned him and Shichiroji the most was not the numbers; itwas that the Nobuseri had learned that a direct and single approach would do no good - they were now splitting their forces to spread Kanna's defenders along a wider area. Then he glanced up at Rikichi.

"And the Benigumo?" he asked quietly.

"No sign of him yet," Rikichi replied, and Kambei nodded to himself, then he looked over at Katsushiro who was waiting for orders.

"Katsushiro, I want you and Rikichi to make your way back to Gorobei's post and assist him in whatever way you can."

"Right!" Katsushiro bowed slightly, nodded to Rikichi, and the two men turned and dashed off toward the cliffs where Gorobei and his assigned team were posted.

* * *

As Nasami sprinted along the path, her eyes were suddenly drawn by movement far below. She paused and leaned forward to peer down into the canyon, and a moment later, she heard the telltale clomping echoing up the canyon, heading for Gorobei's post. 

She doubled her pace, trying desperately to outrun them, but there was no way she could hope to do so on foot, especially with two lame knees. A few moments later, however, she reached the rocky outcropping where Gorobei and the farmers were keeping watch. And far below them, she saw one of the Mimizuku nock an arrow.

"GOROBEI, BELOW YOU!" she screamed as loudly as she could over the storm, and she saw the other samurai turn, startled, to look at her, then race toward the fence protecting the cliff just as the arrow and grenade whistled through the air and connected with a thunk. For a horrifying moment, the farmers stared in confusion, but Gorobei immediately recognized it for what it was.

"You've got to be kidding me! GET DOWN!"

He grabbed Gozaku and shoved him down while Nasami dove forward and tackled one of the other peasants, but the rest of the farmers were caught completely by surprise when the grenade exploded, sending shrapnel and fire in every direction while partially collapsing the cliff face and blowing the fence to splinters.

An instant later, Mimizuku began swarming through the breach, but the two samurai were on their feet and began carving them to pieces.

"How did you know?" Gorobei shouted to Nasami over the chaos.

"Two others ambushed Kyuzo and me in the woods," she yelled back, beheading another Mimizuku and shoving his body back off the cliff. "He's gone to try and catch them, but we need to warn Kambei and the others!"

Cursing, Gorobei sliced another bandit in half.

Gozaku shakily got to his feet and pulled another farmer up with him. "You're going to be okay," he whispered, hoping it were true, while the farmer Nasami had saved began dragging other peasants away from the fence.

"Get the wounded out of here!" Gorobei commanded, driving back two more Mimizuku who were trying to take advantage of the sneak attack.

"Gozaku!" Just then, Rikichi and Katsushiro came running up, staring at the scene in horror.

"Hurry, help me move them!" Gozaku urged, and Rikichi leaned down to help other wounded to their feet while Katsushiro approached Gorobei.

"What happened?"

"They bombed us," the older samurai said grimly, watching as Nasami finished off the last of the Mimizuku.

"The bandits still have bombs? That's forbidden! At the end of the Great War, such weapons were banned!"

"Tell that to the bandits," Nasami snapped without turning around.

"I need you to go back and warn the others," Gorobei told Katsushiro.

"Right!" Katsushiro quickly set off, but Gorobei called after him, "And tell any other samurai you find! We have to spread the word, or even more will get killed!"

Katsushiro dashed back into the mist, while Gorobei turned to the others. "Rikichi, Gozaku, tend to the wounded. The rest of you, follow me!"

But as he and the remaining farmers prepared to fight the second group of bandits making their way up the cliff, Gorobei saw that Nasami had frozen in place and was staring down at the ground.

"No," Nasami whispered. "No, no, no..." 

"Nasami-_dono_!" Gorobei called, but the samuraiko was beyond hearing him. Slowly, she leaned down, and touched the fingertips of her right hand to the face of one of the fallen peasants. She tenderly closed his sightless eyes, and bowed her head.

When she lifted her hand, it was red with blood. Moving with excruciating deliberation, she straightened and drew her fingers across her face from left to right, leaving a swathe of red like a mask over her eyes. Gorobei and the peasants recoiled as she turned her face to theirs, her dark blue eyes blazing with cold fire behind the crimson on her face. She looked over her shoulder at the others who had been killed in the sneak attack, then she turned back to Gorobei and the others.

"If it's death they want, then death I shall give them," she hissed.

Then Nasami lifted _Mamorimasu_ in her hand and leveled it at the approaching Nobuseri forces, and she, Gorobei, and the farmers gave a mighty shout and attacked.

* * *

All over Kanna, the struggle was going badly. Each of the samurai outposts were bombed, as the Nobuseri achieved the double goals of scattering the samurai and causing unbridled panic in the farmers, and group by group, the peasants found themselves slowly being herded toward the village itself. 

Abruptly a Raiden swooped in over a group of houses and opened fire on the farmers, while its patrol of Mimizuku raced after the fleeing peasants to cut them down as they ran. Other Mimizuku sent flaming arrows racing towards the houses, while still others continued bombing building after building until half the village was in flames.

Out of the flames, however, leapt Kyuzo, straight into the midst of a dozen Mimizuku, slicing them into pieces while the farmers fled to safety. He and his swords never stopped moving, leaving a trail of death in his wake.

Mosuke and Manzo shot past him, yelling in panic as a Yakan pursued them, nearly bringing a house down on top of them as they ran. Manzo found himself trapped with his back against a wall as the Yakan approached, and desperately he nocked an arrow into his bow, but his hands shook so badly that his shot went wide. Derisively, the Yakan pulled the arrow from the support beam where it had struck beside him, turned it in his hands and flung it back at Manzo. The farmer shrieked in panic when the arrow landed just beside his head.

"I'm hit! I'm hit! It's an arrow in my head, I'm going to die! I don't want to die!" He buried his face in his hands. "It's not fair! My poor Shino will be an orphan!"

His sobbing was suddenly interrupted by the sight of the Yakan being sliced in half from behind, and he looked up to see Kikuchiyo standing there.

"Quit bellyaching and RUN!"

Then Kikuchiyo whirled around as another Yakan approached, and swung his enormous sword, but to his dismay, the blade shattered against the Yakan shell, so he snatched up a tree and slammed the Yakan straight into the ground. While his back was turned, another Mimizuku took aim with a flaming arrow, but before it could reach the big machine samurai, Gorobei came out of nowhere, snatched the arrow out of the air, and flung it straight back. With a curse, the Mimizuku caught fire and tumbled from the rooftop.

"Showoff," Kikuchiyo muttered, and Gorobei grinned.

* * *

Katsushiro staggered, exhausted, toward the center of the village where he had last seen Kambei and Shichiroji. Everywhere he had gone, outposts had been bombed, farmers had been wounded and killed, and absolute chaos reigned. However, he did allow himself a momentary flicker of pride for killing the Raiden, and wished Nasami had been there to see it. 

"Katsushiro!" As though he had summoned her by his thoughts, he turned and saw the samuraiko limping toward him.

"Nasami-_dono_, I'm glad you're..." Then he saw the blood on her face, the filth and grime covering her armor. "What the-?"

"Not now," she said, cutting off his question. "Where are Kambei and Shichiroji?"

"Last I saw, they were still in the center of the village," he replied, both repulsed and fascinated by the mask of blood she wore across her eyes. As exhausted as Nasami appeared, the fierceness in her eyes had the younger samurai convinced she would keep fighting until she dropped in her tracks. "What's wrong?"

"The Benigumo," she answered, pointing with her katana back the way she had come. "I saw the signal flares, so I went to investigate. Syusai and his patrol have started moving. I killed some of them, but he's on his way here and we need to muster our defenses to stop him."

"How much time do we have?"

"We don't," she said shortly. "Come with me - we need to gather the other samurai before he gets here."

But she only got two steps before she nearly collapsed, and only Katsushiro's quick reflexes kept her from landing facedown in the mud. "Nasami-_dono_!" he said in alarm, catching her as she fell. Glancing down, he was horrified to see several wounds up and down her legs where she was bleeding profusely. Immediately he lowered her to the ground and started tearing strips from his cloak to bind the worst of them.

"Damn it, we don't have time for this," she whispered, her face ashen underneath the mask of blood.

"I just saw Kikuchiyo-_dono_ being dragged off by two Tobito," he told her as he worked. "And Gorobei-_dono_ was just ahead of me, we may still be able to catch up to him. _Sensei_ and Shichiroji-_dono_ are most likely still at the center of the village, keeping an eye on things, so only Kyuzo-_dono_ and Heihachi-_dono_ would have to be found." With that, he tightened the last bandage and pulled the samuraiko to her feet. She swayed slightly, but was at least able to put all of her weight on both legs.

"Thank you, Katsushiro," she murmured. "Now let's go."

As they ran, Katsushiro filled her in on what else had been happening while she had been scouting the enemy - the attacks on the other posts, Rikichi's bravery with the cannon, and then with pride, he told her about how he had defeated a Raiden with a single strike, and even as weary as she was, she managed a smile.

"Good work," she told him, saving as much of her breath for running as she could. "But don't get too overconfident."

Occasionally she would lose her footing and slip, but Katsushiro kept one hand at her elbow to stop her from falling. It felt decidedly strange to him, seeing the samuraiko this wrung out, but he could only imagine how many Mimizuku and Yakan she had taken down to find the Benigumo's position.

* * *

Shichiroji and Kambei were surveying the wreckage of Kanna Village when they saw Heihachi approaching, walking with an obvious limp and several lengths of bandage wrapped around his midsection. The two older samurai immediately came running over, and Shichiroji's breath caught when he saw the blood still seeping past the bandage. "That looks pretty serious." 

Heihachi looked down, smiled ruefully, lifted his goggles out of the way and winked. "Ah, it's nothing some rice won't cure." Kambei and Shichiroji both smiled in relief - if Heihachi could still joke, it couldn't be too bad.

The woodcutter looked up at the sky. "God, I hate this rain, though, making my moves even sloppier than normal."

"That'll happen," Shichiroji agreed cheerfully.

"Any bandits left?" Heihachi asked quietly, glancing around, and Kambei nodded.

"Only the Benigumo's patrol."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than all three samurai whirled around, hands going to their weapons, for out of the mist they could hear sounds rapidly approaching. "Listen!" Kambei peered toward the mist, then started when he saw two Tobito, dragging a cursing and shouting Kikuchiyo behind them.

"Agh, Kikuchiyo!" Shichiroji said in exasperation, and quickly, all three dove for cover as the Tobito tossed Kikuchiyo forward. The moment he landed, though, shots rang out, and with surprising agility, he vaulted to his feet and dove behind some wreckage out of sight.

"Kambei-_sama_, is that the Benigumo?" Shichiroji hissed, trying to remember how many bandits were still carrying firearms.

"We'll find out soon enough," Kambei replied, but then his gaze and Shichiroji's was caught by a flash of red as Kyuzo approached and took up a position to one side.

"Good timing," Shichiroji said dryly.

The five samurai held their breath, waiting... and then out of the mist and rain came searchlights.

Syusai and his patrol had arrived.

Kikuchiyo, however, jumped up from behind his rock eagerly and shouted, "Time to finish you off!" Springing down from the rock, he dashed over to one of the burning buildings and grabbed a support beam that was still aflame. The sight of him swinging it stopped the other samurai in their tracks.

"What are you doing?" Heihachi blurted out.

"Had to replace my sword with something, right?" Kikuchiyo called back cheerfully, smashing three Yakan flat with a single blow. With that, the other four samurai charged into the fray, slicing their way through Syusai's escort. Moving much faster than the Yakan could hope to match, Kyuzo, Shichiroji, Kambei and Heihachi quickly made short work of the bandit group, until only Syusai was left.

"Now it's YOUR turn!" Kikuchiyo taunted, the heavy support beam balanced easily on one shoulder. But the minute the words were out of his mouth, Syusai leveled his cannon and blew the support beam clean in half off Kikuchiyo's shoulder, sending him sprawling. As the Benigumo prepared to fire again, a spear embedded itself in the shoulder joint of his arm, and Gorobei, Katsushiro, and Nasami came dashing up to them.

Syusai growled and ripped the spear free, then fired again.

For an instant, time froze, and Gorobei's eyes searched for the shot, focusing all of his attention...

"I SEE IT!"

Bringing his katana around with all of his might, Gorobei managed to deflect the shot away, but Syusai fired the second barrel straight toward where Gorobei was staggering off balance, and the explosion blew him off his feet, rolling in the mud.

"Gorobei-_dono_!" Katsushiro cried, sprinting to the samurai's side, but one look told him that the wound was mortal... and Gorobei knew it. The young samurai glanced desperately up at Nasami, but the samuraiko's only response was a tightening of her jaw and clenched fists. He looked then at Kambei, but the samurai's gaze was fixed on Syusai.

Katsushiro rounded on the bandit defiantly. "You BASTARD!"

"Wait." Kambei's voice was soft but clear. "This is a battle I must fight on my own." Shichiroji nodded in agreement and took a step back to cover Gorobei and Heihachi. Kyuzo, Nasami and Kikuchiyo also took up defensive stances and waited.

For a moment, Kambei paused and looked back over his shoulder at Nasami. His eyes widened momentarily at the sight of her with blood across her eyes, and her gaze met his levelly. Then she nodded slightly to him and looked over at the Benigumo, and he knew that while she was not at all happy about him duelling the enormous bandit, she respected his right to do so.

Kambei slowly advanced forward, coming to a halt in front of Syusai, who still held his cannon levelled straight at him.

"So, we meet again, relic," Syusai rumbled.

"You're the only one left," Kambei said quietly, his voice matter-of-fact, and the huge machine shrugged slightly.

"I figured as much."

"You've already lost. What reason do you have to continue attacking this village?" Kambei's question hung in the air, and the samurai found themselves holding their breath, waiting for the Nobuseri's response. "Do you feel you have something left to prove?"

Syusai said nothing, but Kambei did not look away.

"Is it... because you are samurai?"

"The samurai within me died ages ago!" Syusai growled, throwing his cannon to one side, scattering the peasants that had gathered.

Nasami turned to look at the cannon, back at Syusai, then at the weapon once again. And slowly, she smiled.

For a long time, Kambei and Syusai stared at one another, swords drawn, waiting for the other to make the first move as the rain fell around them. Then with a curse, Syusai lifted his enormous blade and brought it crashing down where Kambei was standing. Swiftly the samurai leapt aside to dodge the blow, even as the ground shook from the force of the strike. Syusai swung again and again, but Kambei continued to elude him, even as buildings came crashing down around him. But the bandit continued to force him back, and soon Kambei found himself with his back to the wall.

Syusai took full advantage of the opportunity, and a smaller version of his cannon extended from his arm and opened fire.

"That dirty little-!" Kikuchiyo shouted, taking a step forward, but before anyone could react, Kyuzo had leapt forward, scaled a nearby house, and sliced off the hand with the machine gun attachment.

"What are you doing?" Kambei called in dismay and anger, and even Kyuzo appeared momentarily startled.

"No one can kill you except for me," he stated, but Kambei glared at him.

"He was never going to."

Now thoroughly incensed, Syusai attacked both samurai, throwing Kambei off balance and sending his sword flying to embed itself point first into the support beam of one of the few houses still standing.

Kambei got to his feet and found himself staring down the length of Syusai's blade, but there was no fear in his eyes.

"_Sensei_!" Katsushiro cried, making to rise, but Gorobei roused himself enough to stop him.

"No, don't!"

"But Gorobei-_dono_..." Katsushiro protested, but Gorobei shook his head resolutely, and Katsushiro sat back on his heels once more.

As Syusai drew his sword back to deliver the death blow, Kyuzo made to spring forward once more, when a sudden explosion shook the earth and startled all of them. Syusai rocked and then fell forward to land in the mud. As he fell, Kambei turned and snatched up his sword, then lunged out of the way to avoid the bandit's falling body.

Everyone turned in surprise and saw Rikichi, Gozaku, Mosuke and Yohei standing near Syusai's cannon, which they had lashed to the ground to minimize the recoil.

"Rikichi," Gorobei breathed in amazement, then he saw Nasami standing on Gozaku's other side, a length of rope still in her hand and wearing a smirk.

With one arm slung around Gozaku for support, Rikichi looked over at Nasami. "I wish we'd thought of this the first time!" he laughed aloud, then winced as his broken ribs ached.

"Got him! I can't believe we did it!" Gozaku said, as surprised as the samurai were.

"Serves you right, bandit!" Yohei shouted defiantly from the top of the cannon's barrel.

"YOU!" Syusai shouted and the peasants recoiled fearfully. "YOU WILL REGRET THAT!" He lifted his sword to kill the five of them in one attack, but before he could do so, Kambei was there.

"ENOUGH!"

With a single stroke, he beheaded the enormous Nobuseri, then carved straight through his chest on his way back down to the ground, and with agonizing slowness, Syusai's body toppled forward to land in the mud.

Kyuzo came to stand beside Kambei, who turned to look at him. Neither samurai spoke, but then both turned to watch Syusai's body burn, smoke coiling toward the sky.

* * *

In the Mikumari's home, Kirara's head came up in horror, her eyes opening wide. "The water's grown cloudy!" Clutching the crystal tightly, she ran out into the rain, leaving Komachi and the others behind. 

"What's that mean?" Komachi called after her, but Shino felt a chill down her spine.

"Not _sensei_..." she prayed silently. "Please, don't let it be _sensei_..."

* * *

All the samurai and many of the peasants were gathered in a small, tight group around Katsushiro, who held Gorobei in his arms as though trying to infuse him with his own life force. 

"Gorobei, you can't die like this!" Rikichi pleaded, his voice choking. Not until now did he realize how much he had come to admire the street performer, how much he respected and valued his friendship and cheer.

"You'll have to forgive me, Rikichi... looks like I can't take you to the capital after all," Gorobei said weakly, trying to smile.

"Oh, great samurai." Despair filled the young farmer, even as tears formed in his eyes.

Kambei was utterly still, unable to take his eyes off Gorobei. "Your life," he whispered. "I've stolen it."

As weak as he was, Gorobei managed to summon the strength to look at the samurai he had followed here to the battlefield, the man who had inspired him to once again return to the samurai life and death he'd craved for so long. "You've... got to... be kidding... me..."

Then his eyes drifted closed, and he sank back into Katsushiro's arms. The young samurai leaned forward, unwilling to accept the truth in front of him. "Gorobei-_dono_!"

"Gorobei!" Kikuchiyo shouted. "Stop playing around, you stupid mule! Come on, open your eyes! This isn't funny!" But all around him, farmers and samurai alike bowed their hands and closed their eyes, saying their own final, silent farewells to the brave samurai. Several of the peasants were in tears, Rikichi among them, when suddenly they became aware of Kirara running toward them.

She came to a horrified halt, her eyes enormous in her face. "We're responsible for this," she gasped, staring at Gorobei lying in Katsushiro's arms, a serene and peaceful expression on his face.

At that, Kambei flinched, but managed to remain silent. Across the group, his eyes came to rest on Nasami where she stood with tears flowing unchecked down her face, washing away the blood she'd marked herself with. Aware of his gaze, she lifted her head to look at him, and ever so slightly, he tilted his head to indicate Rikichi's house. For a moment she looked puzzled, but then nodded. Quietly placing her hand on Rikichi's shoulder as she passed him, the samuraiko walked away.

Without looking at Shichiroji, Kambei murmured softly, "I have to go. Watch over things here."

Shichiroji gave a long, drawn-out sigh, and then at last nodded. "You got it."

Kambei turned to follow Nasami, but Shichiroji stopped him first. "And Nasami?" he asked softly, watching his former commander intently while the others all gathered around Gorobei.

For a long time, the other samurai said nothing, but then walked away without once looking back.

_To be continued_...


	32. My Honor, My Heart, My Life

_Note: Which is harder? Never finding love, or finding it, and having to let it go? John always used to say that the hardest thing for Nasami to do as a samurai was to stand and watch something happen, but do nothing... And though I wrote and re-wrote "My Honor, My Heart, My Life" a dozen times, in the end, I knew that Nasami was doomed to repeat the events of her past, BECAUSE she is samurai._

_(Note: the conversation Shichiroji remembers having with Nasami is a reference to Chapter Nine of my story "Dancing with Snowflakes.") _

The truly ironic thing is... in spite of the fact that I hadn't seen the entire show... given what plot threads I had started way back when between Hyogo and Nasami (and his subsequent accusation against her), somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered if Kambei, truly caring for Nasami, would do something so brave and yet so stupid all at once for her. By the end of Episode 16, I knew I was right. By the time I got to the end of Episode 20, I just sat on the floor in front of the TV with my arms wrapped around myself, and I could not stop shaking. Yet another chapter where I cried as I wrote it...

The music for this chapter is the wonderful "Truman Sets Sail" from THE TRUMAN SHOW.

* * *

****

The Sword of the Soul

Chapter Thirty-Two

"Are you out of your mind?" Nasami's shout echoed inside Rikichi's small house.

Kambei pushed his long wet hair back from his face as he made sure he had everything he would need on his solitary trek to the capital. "It has to be done, Nasami-_san_. And I will do it alone."

"What can you possibly accomplish, going to the capital alone?"

"I owe it to the memory of Gorobei... I stole his life away by bringing him here, and I will not rest until I have utterly destroyed those who have turned everything that we samurai believe into a mockery!"

Nasami's eyes narrowed, and she waved away his statement with a sweep of her hand. "This is _not_ about justice, Kambei, this is about _revenge_. Do not think me so foolish to not know the difference."

He stopped, but didn't look at her. "Maybe so... but I will be the one whose honor is compromised for it. Not you, nor anyone else."

"But what possible reason could you have for going there? _What_?"

"I made a promise, to Rikichi and to Honoka, that I would rescue their loved ones. And so I shall."

"You did what?" The samuraiko was aghast, knowing full well what a samurai promise meant, but one look from Kambei was all the answer she needed, and Nasami groaned silently.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know." That much was true - Nasami had not been with Kambei and the others when Rikichi's guilt and fear had compelled his confession of his loss of Sanae, nor had she been present when they had learned of Honoka's duplicity in her efforts to save her younger sister.

Kambei nodded to show he understood. "I know. And thanks to the information that Kirara brought back from the Nobuseri, we know they are being held at the capital. So that is where I will go. And I will... convince the Emperor of your innocence."

Nasami's frustration came back in a sudden rush. "And what good will that do you if you get caught?"

"Then at least the Emperor will no longer seek you out as the murderer of the Envoy."

The samuraiko went cold, the blood in her veins turning to ice as her heart stopped within her.

"No..." she whispered at last, her voice low but filled with the absolute command that all true samurai possessed. "You cannot do this, Kambei."

"You cannot stop me." His voice was equally low, but equally commanding.

"You don't even know where the capital is!" she shouted in exasperation.

"That's true, I don't," he agreed. But he looked over his shoulder at her. "But you do."

Nasami froze. "What?"

Kambei did not look away from her, even as the samuraiko's face turned pale. For days, he had been racking his mind, trying to think of a way to find the capital when one night, the answer had come to him. "You've spent a good deal of time there, as I understand it. Especially given your family's ties to the Emperor's Champion."

"No, Kambei-_san_, absolutely not!" she said vehemently, clenching her hands in fists at her sides.

"Why not?" he shot back.

"You're not seriously expecting me to tell you the way to your own death!"

"That is exactly what I am expecting you to tell me, but I have no intention of dying."

"You cannot go by yourself," she protested. Making her faltering way across the room, she reached out her hand to stop him. "At least let me come with you!"

"No," he said firmly, resting his sword at his hip and turning to face away. "When we left the Shikimoribito's caverns to come to Kanna, you were the one who went on alone to protect the rest of us."

"That's because I was still being hunted as a murderer," she said through gritted teeth. "And I would not have endangered the group like that. But-" she raised her hand to stop him from interrupting, "don't tell me that it's the same thing. This is just suicide to go alone!"

"Your still being hunted is the reason you're staying behind."

"Keeping me here still means that Kanna itself is at risk, or have you forgotten?" Nasami shot back.

"The others will remain here as well, to protect you, and Kanna as well," Kambei replied.

"You don't need to protect me, Kambei, I can take care of myself!"

"You will remain here, damn it," he shouted. "I will not put you in harm's way."

The thought that Kambei still lacked faith in her and her abilities, even after everything they had been through, cut through Nasami like the sharpest blade, and she dropped her hand and took an unconscious step away from him.

"Why are you so desperate to protect me?" she whispered, her eyes filled with pain. "Do you still not believe in me?"

Kambei groaned and rested his hands on her shoulders, then bowed his head. The irony of it all was almost enough to make him laugh, if it didn't hurt so much. Of all the samurai, of everyone in the world, for that matter, he trusted the samuraiko more than any other person alive, save Shichiroji... trusted her, believed in her... "It's not that, Nasami. I swear it. I swear it on everything I have ever held sacred in this life."

"Then why?"

"You wouldn't understand."

She rested her hands on his chest, staring up at him. "Then _make_ me understand... _anata_."

The plea broke his heart, something he thought himself immune to after years of a near-meaningless existence. All at once, his mind was filled with images of her - standing in the courtyard beneath the stars, performing the Kata of Seven Swords, holding up the long tress of hair she'd won from him, stunning the villagers with a feat of archery, lying deathly pale after Hyogo nearly killed her...

"Because," Kambei whispered, every word torn from the depths of his soul, "for the first time in years, the emptiness within me has been filled, and I feel... alive."

His hands tightened on her shoulders as his body began to tremble. "I've already stolen Gorobei's life away. I cannot lose you, too, Nasami... not when everything you have done until now has been in the name of honor."

Slowly, silently, tears began sliding down Nasami's cheeks.

His voice shook with barely contained emotion. "I never thought... that I would ever feel anything again. But when I met you, all of a sudden, everything changed. When you almost died after your fight with Hyogo, I realized then that I could never stand aside and watch you die. I cannot bear to feel that emptiness again, but I would rather spend an eternity of emptiness inside than risk losing you."

At last, Kambei lifted his head to meet Nasami's gaze, and for what felt like forever, they stood there and stared at one another, all of the feelings that they had never been able to express there in their eyes for the other to see.

Nasami was silent, and as still as a statue. Before either of them realized what they were doing, they were in each other's arms, holding one another tightly as though protecting each other from the world around them.

"Please," he begged in a ragged whisper.

For a long moment, Nasami stayed in his arms, closed her eyes, and offered up a silent, desperate prayer.

_Lady Sun, I love him... he is samurai, and I love him..._

A single memory came forth, unbidden.

_"He must be something special," Yoshio murmured, "if my little sister thinks so highly of a ronin outcast." Then he raised his eyes to hers. "You are in love with Shimada Kambei, aren't you?"  
She could not make herself speak, but she nodded once.  
The ghost sighed. "Does he know?"  
Nasami shook her head.  
"And your feelings for Mirumoto Kuroshin?"_

She had never told Kuroshin of her feelings, and in the end, she had lost him without him ever knowing how she had loved him. And though she had kept her silence out of respect for Kuroshin despite the terrible cost... though everything in her cried out to tell Kambei how she felt, not to make the same choice that she had before... she said nothing.

And just as it had that long-ago day in Winter Court, just as it had the night her brother's soul had appeared, Nasami felt her heart shatter inside of her.

"I love you," she whispered silently, "but I am samurai."

So she kept her eyes closed tightly, listening to the beat of Kambei's heart, feeling the warm strength of his arms around her, carving everything about the moment into her memory for the long, empty nights to come. Then she straightened to her full height, squared her shoulders, and let the placid expression she so often wore as a samurai cover her features until there was no emotion there at all.

"I would rather die."

And without another word, she stepped away from the samurai, turned, and walked out into the rain, leaving Kambei standing alone.

* * *

Kirara came upon Nasami standing near the remains of the bridge, staring off into the distance. "Great Nasami, I wanted to make sure that you were all…" Kirara's words trailed off as she took in the samuraiko's appearance. Her eyes widened in shock at Nasami's heartbroken expression, the pallor of her face and defeated slump of her shoulders. "Nasami-_dono_, what… what happened?" 

Nasami shrugged.

But for once, the water priestess would not be deterred, and she walked around to face Nasami directly. "You don't fool me," she said bluntly. "I think I know you well enough by now to say that."

The samuraiko's bitter chuckle made Kirara's blood run cold. "Oh, I doubt it."

"Please, great samurai, what is it?" the priestess begged. "Tell me!"

With a long sigh, barely audible above the falling rain, Nasami's eyes met Kirara's. "I had a chance to change things this time, but instead... I... am watching my past repeat itself, Kirara."

"What do you mean?"

"Kambei has left. He's going to the Emperor's capital… alone."

"What?" Kirara gasped. "And you let him go?"

Nasami nodded slowly.

"I don't understand..." Kirara put one hand to her head, nearly reeling in shock.

Nasami shook her head, her long white hair blowing about her face, and resumed her staring off into the distance. "No... you wouldn't. You are not samurai."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kirara asked.

"He said he would rescue Sanae, so he will do it. He said he would rescue Honoka's sister, so he will do it."

"So?"

"Honesty and sincerity are two of the tenets of the code of bushido," Nasami explained. "Being samurai means when you say you will do something, you do it. You need not promise, or give your word. Just as he agreed to come to Kanna to defend it against the Nobuseri. As each of us did."

"That's just semantics," the water priestess said, waving her hands in frustration. "He couldn't have meant doing it all by himself!"

"Do you doubt me? Or do you doubt _him_?" The samuraiko's gaze was level, and Kirara was startled at the flame that seemed to burn in Nasami's eyes. "As for letting him go... I could not do otherwise. To do so would insult his courage, his honor, his word as a samurai, and my trust in him."

Nasami turned away once more, her hand resting on the pommel of her katana, her fingertips brushing the long locks of Kambei's hair woven through the tsuba. "Believe me, Kirara, letting him go alone was the last thing I wanted. But... we cannot always have what we want. We can only accept that which is."

"But... he doesn't even know where it is!" Kirara protested. "I was there, the Elder asked him, and he said he didn't know!"

"Did you really think that would stop him?" the samuraiko said quietly.

"Then how did he find out?"

Nasami closed her eyes wearily. "Figure it out yourself."

Kirara stood staring at Nasami's back, her mind grasping for answers, trying to make sense of it all. None of the farmers knew where the capital was, that much was certain. None of the samurai knew, or they would have said something about it.

The samurai...

_"So you grew up in court?" Heihachi asked around a mouthful of rice.  
__Nasami nodded.  
__"Wow, it must have been beautiful," Kirara said wistfully. "Surrounded by finery, never having to work, never going hungry…"  
__"It was a privileged life," Nasami agreed._

"You... _you_ know where the capital is," she whispered. "Don't you, great samurai?"

The samuraiko nodded without opening her eyes. "Yes."

And all at once, horror washed over Kirara like an icy wave.

"_You_ told him!" she accused, her voice nearly a shriek. "Nasami-_sama_, how _could_ you? Don't you even _care_?"

"I care." Nasami's voice was flat, but there was no denying the truth of her words. "Which is why I told him nothing."

Then it hit Kirara. There _was_ one person beside Nasami who would know... or rather, one _group_ of people, who also had long-standing dealings with the capital. Then she was scrambling down the cliff face, trying to reach Kambei before it was too late, leaving Nasami standing alone on the cliff, her eyes once again open, and filled with an ancient pain.

"_I am sorry, my sister_," she heard.

"I had to do it," she whispered. "I had to let him go, Yoshio."

"_Even though you love him_?" he asked, but she shook her head, and she turned to see the shade of her brother standing beside her.

"No, my brother... _because_ I love him."

His face, so like hers, was somber, and he rested one ethereal hand on her shoulder, the only comfort he could offer the sister who had miraculously found love a second time... and had once again sacrificed it in the cause of being samurai.

* * *

Nearly out of breath by the time she spotted him in the distance, Kirara summoned one last burst of energy to cry out, "Great Kambei, wait!" 

The samurai neither stopped nor looked back.

She opened her mouth to call out again, but a raspy voice from above her made her pause. "Let him go."

Kirara glanced up and saw the Elder standing on the hillside above her, looking after Kambei. A look of profound sadness on his face, he sighed deeply. "He still has much to do. This battle may be won, but the war is not."

The priestess turned to watch Kambei walk away until he disappeared from sight. Above her, the Elder sighed again, this time to himself.

"Yes, the war still goes on," he murmured, his voice lost in the sound of the wind and rain. "Both this war... and the one within his own heart."

* * *

"_I would rather die_." 

Far ahead of her, following the road that led out of Kanna, Kambei walked with single-minded purpose. He ignored the rain, ignored the wind, ignored the voice pleading behind him for him to come back. But as he headed north, try as he might, he could not stop thinking about Nasami.

"_I would rather die_."

Her last words to him echoed in his mind, drowning out all other sound, all other thought. Almost mechanically, his feet carried him along the road, toward the desert, the storm howling around him. He was oddly grateful for the storm and the rain, for they hid the tears on his face as he left behind the only woman he cared for.

"_I would rather die_."

"I won't let that happen," he whispered, clenching his hands into fists and blinking back his tears. "I would rather die."

* * *

Hours later, Kikuchiyo and the other samurai found Nasami sitting by the waterfall, her knees drawn up to her chest, her long white hair loose around her shoulders. Even as the rain streamed down around her, she seemed unaffected by it. She stared straight ahead, lost in her thoughts, staring northward. 

"Nasami-_dono_?" Heihachi said softly. "You shouldn't be sitting here in the rain like this... you'll become ill, and then where will you be?"

The only indication that she heard him was a slow shake of the head.

Shichiroji sighed and came to crouch down next to her. "Don't worry, I'm sure Kambei-_sama _will be fine. But sitting here won't do any good, and you know it."

All she did was shake her head again.

"Please, Nasami-_dono_, what's wrong?" Katsushiro pleaded. It was almost painful to see the proud samuraiko so lost in her sorrow. "Why are you shutting us out?"

Her silence cut all of them like a blade, but they could see tears slowly sliding down her face.

Shichiroji and Heihachi looked at one another helplessly, then at Kyuzo, but all he did was shrug.

"She loves him."

Kyuzo's statement shocked all of the samurai, but Nasami's only response was to bow her head, her long hair falling to hide her face.

"She what?" Kikuchiyo whispered.

"She loves him."

"You mean... Kambei-_sama_?" Shichiroji asked, and Kyuzo nodded.

The other samurai stared at one another, but suddenly everything made sense. Kambei's overprotectiveness, Nasami leaving them behind to travel alone, the remarkable closeness between the two, and most recently, the samuraiko's moment of absolute despair beside the waterfall, where Kambei had sent all of them away to face her alone. It had been right there in front of them, and yet none of them had seen it.

Shichiroji looked back at the samuraiko, his heart sinking as he remembered a conversation between himself and the samuraiko one moonlit night...

"_So I guess then the question is, what's stronger? Your honor... or your heart_?"  
"_That's not fair_."  
"_But that's what it all comes down to in the end, Nasami. When the time comes... which will you choose_?"  
"_I... I don't know_."

"Oh, Nasami," he whispered, his own heart aching. "Does anyone else know about this?"

Kyuzo answered instead with a shake of his head.

Katsushiro stared at Nasami, remembering the night at Masamune's workshop when she and Kambei had spoken in the courtyard. Even then, the connection between the pair had been obvious. And then there was Kambei's almost bitter reaction to Katsushiro's accusation while travelling to Kanna...

_"So how is what's going on with you and Nasami-dono any different?"  
Kambei turned around to Katsushiro with a look on his face that the young samurai had never seen before.  
Raw, nearly uncontrolled bitterness.  
"The difference, were it any of your business, Katsushiro, is that unlike you, I am not hiding behind a lie."_

"_Sensei_ feels the same for her." Katsushiro's voice was barely a whisper as the truth slowly dawned on him. "But he is a samurai..."

"And so he left her behind," Heihachi finished somberly. "And because _she_ is samurai... she let him go."

Shichiroji in particular was kicking himself for not having realized what had been going on between his friend and the samuraiko.

"'_A certain charm?' Don't you have eyes? Or maybe you haven't realized that by not saying anything, you've spoken more clearly than you ever could have with words_."  
"_I didn't realize that you gave up being samurai to become a matchmaker_."  
"_What are you afraid of, Kambei-sama_?"  
"_Myself_."

Then, with surprising tenderness, Kikuchiyo knelt down beside Nasami, and startled all of them by drawing the samuraiko into his arms. Yet even then, she did not relax into Kikuchiyo's arms, but held herself as stiffly as before.

"You once told me," he told her, "that 'I know that you're angry because you feel powerless…', because I was stuck on the whole being samurai thing, and forgetting about me. Remember?"

At that, her head came up, and she lifted her gaze to meet Kikuchiyo's, and nodded.

"You're always so proud, so strong," he went on. "Living up to this legend of yours. But like you told Kambei before... underneath all of that... you're still... Nasami."

He carefully lifted a hand and stroked her long hair. And with that, she finally gave in to her tears, and the machine samurai held her tightly as she cried.

To be continued...


	33. Never Forget What You Are

_Note: I actually owe this chapter to NarcissisticRiceBall, for sparking an idea from her story "Scent of the Battlefield." (And I REALLY am sorry it took so long, NRB, I swear!)_

_The other inspiration for this chapter was the appeal of having Nasami's, um, 'less than pleasant' personality characteristics brought to the fore. As admirable a person as Kirara is (and I_ can _say that), I also know Nasami well enough to know what she would think of her after the Battle for Kanna. And even I was surprised at how the chapter turned out... but when you think about it, it really does make sense. There were few things that Nasami despised more than hypocrisy - pride, deception, cowardice, and dishonor all in one._

_The music for this chapter is the absolutely fantastic instrumental "Prelude" by the band Slaughter (which I first heard in the DBZ movie "The History of Trunks," and if your breath doesn't just catch when you listen to it, you have a heart of stone). I spent ages looking for the CD, and when I finally found it, I just sat in my living room with all the lights off, lying on the floor, staring into the darkness while I listened to it over and over._

_UPDATE: I finally got Volume 7. Oh... my... God..._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Thirty-Three_

Kirara stood in the doorway of Rikichi's small house, watching as Gozaku carefully bandaged Rikichi's broken ribs.

"Will he be all right?" she asked anxiously as Rikichi winced while Gozaku tightened another length of bandage around his chest.

"Once he's had some rest. Of course, it's going to hurt until they've healed up, but thankfully nothing life-threatening." Gozaku looked out past Kirara at the fallen rain and the wreckage of Kanna.

"Besides, there are others who are much worse off."

Kirara also looked behind her. "That's war for you, Gozaku. Repeated time and again in an endless cycle, as the warriors rise up to fight, are either victorious or vanquished, and then it all begins again."

Then the figure of Katsushiro caught her eye, kneeling beside Gorobei. The entertainer's body had been carefully carried from the battlefield by Shichiroji and Kikuchiyo earlier, placed out of the rain under the awning of one of the few surviving houses. The young samurai's shoulders were heaving as he wept for Gorobei, the first samurai to fall in their battle against the Nobuseri. Kikuchiyo, Shichiroji, Nasami, Heihachi, and Kyuzo were also standing nearby, paying their own quiet respects to their fallen comrade.

Kirara turned her back on the scene. "It seems that Katsushiro is still haunted by the notion of death. He must learn to overcome that, or he'll never truly become samurai."

"How _dare_ you!"

Kirara whirled around at the sound of Nasami's voice, and immediately backed away. The samuraiko was angrier than Kirara had ever seen, her eyes blazing with an almost palpable fury, her face pale with rage. She flicked the blood from her katana in the ancient chiburi tradition, and then slammed the katana back into its saya with a loud ringing sound. But then she strode forward and grabbed Kirara by the throat.

The water priestess got out a single shocked gasp as Nasami's fingers closed.

The samuraiko didn't even pause, but began dragging Kirara backward past the shocked villagers, even as Kirara struggled to get her feet back under her. Kirara fought to get free, nearly choking in the samuraiko's grip, but Nasami ignored her thrashings and kept walking until she reached the muddy stretch where most of the killing had been done.

The other samurai turned, and their eyes widened at the sight of Nasami holding Kirara by the throat. "Nasami-_dono_, what are you-" Heihachi began, but a single look from the samuraiko froze him in his tracks, and his question died away.

And then she threw Kirara to the ground, and the priestess landed on her hands and knees in the mud and the rain. Gasping for air, Kirara turned to get to her feet, but then froze.

Nasami was again holding her unsheathed katana in her hand, long white hair streaming with rain, her armor covered in blood and filth and grime.

The samuraiko pointed the katana at Kirara, her voice icy, her eyes hard, and her sword unwavering. "You are in _no_ position to judge him, or _any_ of the samurai. You, who cowers behind the samurai you hired to save your village, who condemns a man for doing his duty, who criticizes the scent of war when you pay others to get their hands dirty for you, _you_… _have… no… right_!"

"How dare you!" Kirara cried, trying once again to get to her feet, but with the speed of a striking snake, Nasami slapped the water priestess full across the face. Katsushiro gasped and moved forward, his hand going to his sword.

"Don't, Katsushiro," Nasami hissed, seeing him step into the edge of her vision, and the young samurai stopped. "Don't even _think_ of drawing that sword unless you intend to use it. And if you draw it on _me_, you had damned well better be prepared to _die_ for it."

Katsushiro's hand fell to his side, and he bowed his head as he stepped back. While he hated to admit it, he knew there was absolutely no way he could ever hope to defeat the samuraiko in combat, not even to defend Kirara.

"Get this through your head, Kirara," Nasami said in a low and dangerous voice, staring down the length of the blade at the girl. "Priestess you might be, and your devotion to the water spirits honorable, but _never_ forget that underneath it all, you are still a _peasant_."

She reached out abruptly, took Kirara by the shoulder in a rough grasp, forced her to turn around once again, and shouted, "LOOK!"

Kirara looked.

All around her, peasants were gathered in small groups, desperately trying to treat the wounded, gathering the casualties, and staring at the remains of their homes and their village. Many held swords or bows still, others had taken the Nobuseri's weapons to use against them. Women and children were sobbing around them for those who had not survived the bandits' assault. All of them were covered in mud, several of them bleeding.

The bodies of Mimizuku were strewn all over the field, as were many of the Yakan machine operators, and more than a few of the mechanical Raiden and Benigumo.

The whole village reeked of death.

Slowly, tears began to slide down Kirara's cheeks, and she started to shake.

"How could you possibly think for _one moment_ that you could survive the pain of being the friend of a samurai? Offering to clean away the blood that covers Katsushiro's hands, how sweet, how very sweet." Nasami laughed, a harsh sound that made Kirara flinch. "You blind little _hypocrite_. The very thing you despise about Katsushiro is the very thing you embrace about Kambei."

Kirara's tears fell faster, creating pale tracks in the mud on her cheeks.

Nasami continued her tirade, ignoring the priestess' tears. "You are always faulting Katsushiro for his reactions to death, but here you kneel, in the same filth, the same mud, and just like him, you freeze in horror at what you've done."

Kirara glanced up at Nasami in dismay.

"Yes, little priestess, look at what you have brought upon your village. _Not_ the samurai. _You_."

Kirara shook her head, but she could not make herself look away. Nor could she speak.

The samuraiko heard her mute denial, but Nasami was nowhere near done yet. "Yes, you. _You_ volunteered to find samurai to defend Kanna Village. _You_ went to Kougakyo looking for samurai. _You_ offered them rice, hired them to kill the Nobuseri for you, led them here to Kanna, all because _you_ were too cowardly to fight for your village, your rice, and your lives."

Nasami gestured with her sword hand, pointing to the village around them. "Oh, of course, how could we forget your great and noble sacrifice? Risking yourself for the safety of your village by offering yourself to the Nobuseri?" Then she knelt behind Kirara and hissed in her ear, "When you knew perfectly well that the samurai were hiding in the rice, just waiting to save you. How brave, how very courageous."

She let Kirara go, but the girl made no effort to stand. She could not have risen if her life had depended on it, so stunned and shattered was she.

"Since the moment each of us agreed to help you, we samurai have killed for you time and again. And _this_ is how you repay us, with criticism and contempt. The other farmers have trained, sweated, slaved, bled, and some have even died defending this village and this rice of yours, but do you criticize them? No, of course not. A farm girl, without even your skills and status, dared to dream that she might become more, and was willing to risk blood on her own hands for what she believed in, but do you condemn her? No. In fact, apart from bringing us here, you have not done one damned thing."

Nasami crouched down in front of Kirara and forcibly took one of her wrists in her hand. Kirara winced at the muck and blood that covered her small hands. "And yet, look. As hard as you tried to keep it from happening, your hands are now just as dirty as ours. The blood of the bandits is as much on your hands as it is on Katsushiro's… on Kambei's... on mine… or on any of us."

Nasami rose to her feet once again and gestured once more to the village around them. "The scent of the battlefield, the scent of the battlefield, that's all you talk about - the one quality you sought from your hired samurai. Well, here it is - breathe it in. Let it fill your lungs until you think you're going to choke on it. Let it settle onto your skin until you think you'll never be clean again. Let it contaminate your very soul until your spirit is ready to collapse under the weight of the fallen."

Kirara gave a ragged cry and covered her ears, shutting her eyes tight. But the samuraiko was relentless, and yanked her hands away. "You can cover your eyes to the truth, but you cannot stop it from being spoken."

For a long time, the only sounds were the falling rain and Kirara's weeping. Then Nasami pushed the priestess away, who fell forward into the mud. Kirara just lay there and sobbed as Nasami rose to her feet, sheathed her katana once more, and walked away.

* * *

"Don't you think you were a little hard on her?" Shichiroji asked Nasami later as the samuraiko cleaned and sharpened her swords. 

"No," she said at last, not turning around. "Which would be the greater crime? Hurting her by showing her the reality of war? Or letting her go on in her ignorance?"

"You might have been a little kinder about it, though."

"Show me where I can find kindness in war, Shichiroji-_san_, and I'll consider it."

"You know the old proverb, Nasami-_dono_ - 'To condemn the innocent, you must first condemn yourself.'"

"I could also remind _you_ that 'to hide the truth is more than folly - it is fatal.'"

Shichiroji frowned at her. "This isn't like you... at least not as I've come to know you."

The samuraiko's hands stilled, but she still did not turn.

"She isn't samurai, Nasami. How can you hold her to the same standards as yourself?"

Nasami turned to him at last, her katana in her hand, and gestured toward the door with it. "Then go comfort her," she shot back, her voice growing louder with each word, "or better yet, send Katsushiro... let him reassure her that being a lying, cowardly hypocrite is all right, because she's just a peasant. Ease her distress by reminding her that life as a water priestess makes her exempt from the stench of death." She turned her back on Shichiroji and continued to sharpen the blade.

The blond samurai leaned back and studied her. "You really do hate that, don't you?" he said at last. "The idea of living with one's head in the sand, hoping that problems will go away if you just don't think about them?"

"I despise it."

"It's funny, you sound a lot like Heihachi."

"You mean his problems with betrayal and treachery," she mused. "Yes... I suppose that I do."

"So what happened to the woman who gave her last rations of rice to a starving child?"Shichiroji asked her without stopping to think about his words.

Nasami carefully drew a soft cloth down the length of the blade and sheathed it with an audible click. Then she looked over her shoulder at him, her dark blue eyes as cold as ice. "There is a time and place for compassion, but there is also one for honesty - no matter how terrible, no matter how true. And I would much rather be known for being honest than compassionate."

Shichiroji barely restrained a shiver at the look in her eyes. In that instant, he knew that those were not Nasami's eyes. Those were the eyes of Sasuraitsuru.

"You forgave Manzo," Shichiroji reminded her softly, but Nasami shook her head.

"I understand him, Shichiroji... I never said that I forgave him."

* * *

That night, after the rain had finally ceased, the six samurai walked along the path through Kanna, moving solemnly toward a small hill that overlooked the village and the surrounding rice paddies. Kyuzo, Heihachi, Katsushiro, and Shichiroji were carrying the litter that held Gorobei's body, while Nasami and Kikuchiyo walked with lit lanterns, her leading the procession, and him following it. 

The farmers of Kanna had wanted to come along, but Heihachi and Shichiroji had quietly discouraged them.

"But great samurai, we want to show our respect as well!" Rikichi had protested, but the blond samurai shook his head.

"None of us here doubt that you and the others want to honor Gorobei's loss, Rikichi, but only samurai can truly understand what death means for another samurai. You'll have your chance, I promise."

Once they reached the top, Kikuchiyo and Nasami placed their lanterns on the ground, and picked up the shovels that they had brought up earlier in the day. Without a word, the two started to dig while the others watched in silence. When the hole was large enough, Kikuchiyo climbed out, then helped Nasami get to her feet as well, and the other four lowered Gorobei's body into the grave.

For a moment, nobody spoke. Then one by one, each of them leaned forward and placed some token of respect in the grave.

Kyuzo placed a Mimizuku sword, Katsushiro an arrow, Heihachi a ball of rice, Shichiroji the map of Kanna Village, and Kikuchiyo a farmer's sickle. Nasami, however, hesitated before placing her offering, and swallowed hard.

"'Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead'," she quoted, her voice barely louder than a whisper, and all of the samurai bowed their heads. "'Therefore grieve not for what is... inevitable.'" With those words, she leaned down and placed a single flawless origami crane on Gorobei's folded hands.

"Clear skies and fair winds to you, Gorobei-_san_," Shichiroji said at last. Then he and the others filled in the grave.

"He deserved a pyre," Heihachi said sadly. "Something bright and alive and dangerous and beautiful all at once would have suited him better, I think."

But when they were done, Kyuzo frowned.

"We need a marker."

"I brought his banner," Katsushiro said quietly, but Nasami glanced over at it and shook her head.

"'Life for sale'? No... his death was not that of a common ronin or sell-sword mercenary. He deserves better than that."

Without another word, Kikuchiyo pulled the remnant of his sword from its usual sheath across his back and drove it into the grave. Even broken in half, it was several feet long, and Nasami smiled in spite of herself.

Shichiroji then handed each of the samurai a stick of incense, which they lit from the lanterns Nasami and Kikuchiyo had carried, and one by one, placed them on the grave.

Katsushiro's voice trembled slightly as he spoke first. "He was an honorable warrior."

"In love with life," Nasami murmured.

Kyuzo's voice was softer than usual. "A worthy opponent."

Heihachi smiled ruefully. "A free spirit."

"And a good friend," Shichiroji added.

"He was a showoff, stubborn as a mule, and more than a little bit crazy," Kikuchiyo said firmly, and everyone turned to look at him. "But he was a true samurai, damn it."

He looked around at the others, paused as though about to say something, then turned and stalked off into the darkness.

Kikuchiyo didn't get far, however, before he heard someone calling after him. "Kikuchiyo-_san_, wait!"

The big machine samurai stopped and turned to see Nasami following him. "What's up?"

"What's wrong? You left in such a hurry, and angry at that."

Kikuchiyo threw his hands up in the air. "It's just that... that jerk Kambei just up and left, and he didn't even stick around to say a prayer or light incense or anything! He's supposed to be our leader, and this great samurai and all, and then he's out of here and leaving us behind like we were children who'd just get in his way." He turned and started walking again. "And it didn't help that he just left you here. You deserve better than that. You deserve better than _him_."

"He didn't just leave me here, Kikuchiyo," she said softly, falling into step beside him. "I knew he was leaving, and I let him go."

"You still deserve better..." Kikuchiyo muttered. Then he stopped and turned to Nasami, forcing her to stop abruptly or walk straight into him.

"Why didn't you just tell him that you love him?" he asked her point-blank, and the samuraiko went ashen.

"How did you...?"

"I'm not that stupid, Nasami. Kambei would _never_ have left you behind if he'd known the truth, but since he's gone, that means you didn't tell him. And why someone like you, who's never had a problem speaking her mind, wouldn't have told him something like that makes no sense."

Nasami bowed her head. "I couldn't," she said softly.

"Why not? He was there, you were there, you could have just said it!"

"Kikuchiyo..."

"_Why_?"

"It wouldn't have mattered!" she cried suddenly. "You know just as well as I do that even if I _had_ told him, he wouldn't have accepted it! Because... I am samurai." This time her voice was even fainter. "And so is he."

"Then you're both idiots - him for leaving, and you for letting him. He had someone like you, and the bastard goes off on his own. And you just let him leave! You could have argued, gone along with him, kept the old goat out of trouble!"

"We still have a responsibility to Kanna," she reminded him, her voice low and slightly angry. "The village is not yet secure, the farmers not yet freed. If the Nobuseri return, we must be prepared."

"He had that responsibility, too," Kikuchiyo said bitterly. "Didn't stop him from leaving. And now he's going to get himself killed, and for what?"

"He will not die."

Nasami and Kikuchiyo both whirled around to find Kyuzo standing on the path behind him.

"Kyuzo-_sama_..." Nasami said, startled.

"I need to speak with you. Alone." Kyuzo brushed past both of them, clearly expecting Nasami to follow.

She glanced at Kikuchiyo through narrowed eyes. "We'll finish this later." Then she turned and walked after the fair-haired assassin.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, she looked over at him. "Well?"

"I need to know where the Capital is."

"But if I tell you, you'll go after Kambei with the intent of killing him."

Kyuzo said nothing, but Nasami remembered all too well the first, last, and only time they had spoken of the matter.

"_Would you spare his life, out of respect for another samurai_?"  
"_I will fight him _because _he is samurai_."  
"_Not out of respect for him_... _but for me_."  
"_No_."  
"_I see_."  
"_Nasami-dono_... _I am sorry_..."  
"_As am I_."

"No, Kyuzo-_sama_... I can't."

Then she gasped as he grasped her by both shoulders and shoved her back against a tree, leaning in so close to her that she could feel his breath on her cheek. Try as she might, she could not look away from him as he pierced her with his gaze.

"He may very well die, and _not_ by my hand. Which death would you prefer for him?"

"Are you so certain that he'll die?"

"I won't take that chance."

Nasami winced.

"What makes you think that I would tell you, if I didn't tell Kambei?" she whispered, and he leaned even closer. And in a single fleeting moment, Nasami saw a spark of something flare in Kyuzo's eyes... then fade... then die. His voice was low and absolutely matter-of-fact.

"You don't love me."

Nasami's heart stopped, until all she could do was stare, her eyes dark and silver and shadowed in the moonlight.

For what felt like for an eternity, the two stood there in the shadow of the trees, and at last, Nasami closed her eyes, her words coming fast.

"Head east for four days, keeping the forest to your right. When you reach Mizen Mura, turn due north for another day and a half."

Her eyes still closed, she felt Kyuzo release her. "Kyuzo!" she called.

Nasami heard his footsteps stop, and though she did not hear him turn around, she sensed that he was looking at her.

"Promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"No matter how far you must travel or how long you must search, if Kambei dies by your sword, you will find me again..."

Her voice dropped.

"... and you will fight me."

"Agreed."

When Nasami opened her eyes again, Kyuzo was gone.

_To be continued_...


	34. Rise from the Ashes

_Note: I generally hate flashback episodes, because there's not much original material for me to use as a reference, but thankfully Episode 17 ("The Remembrance") does have some nice scenes... and I still laugh at how I unintentionally alluded to things I had no way of knowing, such as Kikuchiyo's rant to Katsushiro when trying to persuade him to go chasing after Kambei._

_I was also stunned at how well received the last chapter ("Never Forget What You Are") was received. I was CERTAIN that everyone would hate it for what happened between Nasami and Kirara! Goes to show how much I know..._

_The music for this chapter was a surprise find - while delving into my more, um, unusual music tastes, I came up with the track "Laundry" from THE MUSIC OF RED SHOE DIARIES. (Hey, I'm old enough to watch it...)_

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Thirty-Four_

"_Tending season, bending ears, it's time for harvest rice...  
Sharpen reapers, sever stalks for better yields tonight...  
Wrung in bundles, hung in rows, and ripened by the sun,  
Kanna needs our honored prayers and so until it's done_..."

The farmers' voices rose in song as they knelt among the rice, sickles moving in time to their words while they harvested. Nearby, the Elder stood and watched as Shichiroji approached.

"Finally harvest time," the blond samurai said in satisfaction, and the Elder nodded.

"Yes, and as it should be."

A sudden outburst of laughter caught their attention, and they glanced over to see Kikuchiyo sprawled flat on the ground, a sickle in his hand while several village children stood giggling at him.

In mock outrage, Kikuchiyo leapt to his feet, brandishing the sickle. "Hey, what are you runts laughing at?"

"You're just not cut out for harvesting work, Kiku!" Komachi announced.

"Excuse me, I may look like this now, but in my farming days, they called me 'swift god of the rice field workers!'" Kikuchiyo declaimed loudly.

This pronouncement got blank stares from most of the children.

"Really?" Okara drawled after a long, embarrassing pause.

"Long name!" Komachi said brightly, and Kikuchiyo groaned. "Don't you think?"

"Look, it sounded better when they sang it, okay?" He stood up and waved his arms in frustration. "It's not my fault, these sickles are too small! It's like I'm cutting rice with a toothpick!"

"They're not too small, you're just too big!" Komachi teased.

"Or too clumsy," Okara chimed in.

Eventually a few of the village women came over and tactfully pointed out that Kikuchiyo's mechanical body was no longer suited for farming, and Kikuchiyo relented with a dejected, "Fine..." and wandered off. After aimlessly roaming around Kanna Village for a while, he found himself up at the hilltop where Gorobei's grave was, and he plunked himself down with a loud sigh.

"Hey there, Goro! You enjoying the sun today?" For a few moments, he studied the grave, as though half-expecting to hear Gorobei's familiar laugh in reply. When no answer was forthcoming, he rested his chin in his hands and grunted in frustration.

"Huh, damn these farmers. Apparently I'm useless now, just a heap of metal in the way. I'm restless!" Then he realized that being restless was a lot better off than being dead. "I'm sure you understand, being stuck just lying there..." he said hastily.

He looked up at the sky, watching the clouds drift lazily across the sun.

"They're acting like farmers again, worrying about weather and rice! They've forgotten all about us already!" Kikuchiyo heaved another loud sigh, and his shoulders slumped. "I don't know... maybe you died in vain."

"That's for Gorobei-_sama_ to decide, don't you think?" he heard from behind him, and the big machine samurai turned to see Heihachi standing there, cheerfully munching on a long strand of grass.

"Oh, it's all just too much!" Kikuchiyo turned back to look at the grave, and then noticed Nasami walking among the farmers, her laughter drifting up to where he sat.

_"And it didn't help that he just left you here. You deserve better than that. You deserve better than_ him_."  
"He didn't just leave me here, Kikuchiyo... I knew he was leaving, and I let him go."  
"You still deserve better..."_

"And what the hell's the deal with Kambei, huh?" he went on, ranting once again as he remembered the barely restrained frustration and helplessness in the samuraiko's voice after Gorobei's funeral. "Bastard up and left, and didn't even take the time to light a single piece of incense, the coward! He _and_ the farmers, they're all just a bunch of cowards!"

"He will be back, Kikuchiyo," Heihachi assured him softly. "Both for us... _and_ for her."

"How can you be sure?" Even the woodcutter could hear the almost desperate need for reassurance in the big machine samurai's voice, and he smiled.

"He'll be back... he is a samurai, after all."

With that, Heihachi turned to wander off again, quietly humming to himself. As he left, he heard Kikuchiyo turn and ask, "Hey... what _is_ a samurai, anyway?"

"Look in the mirror," Heihachi replied without turning around as he headed into the woods. "You'll see one staring back."

* * *

"And... HEAVE!" 

The farmers not currently harvesting in the fields were busy working on rebuilding the village - reconstructing homes, thatching new roofs, and clearing away debris. Heihachi and Shichiroji moved among the men, providing the same organization and guidance that they had during the preparation of Kanna's defense.

As Shichiroji and the Elder cheerfully discussed the rebuilding, both men became aware of a slim figure standing nearby, and turned to see Nasami watching the reconstruction intently.

"Nasami-_dono_!" Shichiroji called, waving her over. "How are things coming along in the fields?"

"They're making good time," she replied, nodding politely to the Elder. "Not having to worry that the bandits are going to descend at any time is a huge burden off their shoulders, and it shows. How's the rebuilding going?"

"I was just telling the Elder that we've probably doubled their efficiency," Shichiroji said, looking a little smug. "We'll have Kanna rebuilt in no time."

Nasami looked out over the construction and smiled, then glanced back shyly at Shichiroji. "Actually... do you mind if I make one recommendation? It's more of a request, really."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Would you mind asking the farmers to carve and raise a torii?" She pointed off toward where a team of farmers under Heihachi's guidance was rebuilding the bridge. "Over near there?"

"A purification arch?" the Elder asked in surprise, and the samuraiko nodded. "Interesting... may I ask why?"

Nasami looked slightly self-conscious. "Well... call it religious inclination if you like, but after everything that's happened here... I would just hate to see the farmers of Kanna Village carrying a burden on their souls for it." She waved her hands in frustration. "Oh, I don't know... maybe it's just me being foolish."

The Elder gave her an understanding smile. "Not at all, Nasami-_sama_. It's an excellent idea." To her surprise, he bowed in respect. "In fact, we are fortunate to have a samurai protector who safeguards more than our lives, our homes, and our rice. Perhaps we might ask that once the arch has been raised, if you would teach us more about this."

"Of course, I'd be glad to." Nasami smiled in relief. "So, anything that I can help with? I'm not much of an engineer, and I certainly can't farm rice..."

"Well..." Shichiroji rubbed the back of his head and considered. "Unfortunately, I can't really think of much. With all the farmers currently working in the fields or rebuilding, there's no time for weapons training. Although... now that I think of it, if you wouldn't mind doing another assessment of Kanna Village and making a few recommendations for permanent defenses, it would be a big help."

"That I can do," she agreed. "Do you mind if I borrow Katsushiro? Maybe I can teach him a few things during the process."

The blond samurai nodded slowly. "You're worried about him, too, huh? He's been acting really uneasy since the battle, and having Kambei-_sama_ leave didn't help matters any, I think. But I'll leave him to you."

"Any idea where he is?"

"I think I saw him over at Kirara's house."

* * *

As the samuraiko approached the Mikumari home, she became aware of voices from within. 

"And now here I am, a man without purpose... a samurai, in an age of merchants."

Instinctively, Nasami quieted her footsteps and approached on almost silent feet as she had been taught by her _sensei_ until she was standing just out of sight near the doorway.

"Why did you show that book to me?" she heard Katsushiro ask.

"I've read it a hundred times," came Kirara's reply. "I know the tragedy of the samurai, the impossible feelings it creates, yet I did it to you anyway. I'm so ashamed."

But underneath Kirara's words, Nasami couldn't help but sense that somehow, the water priestess' words rang false. It wasn't that she was deliberately being obtuse, or that she wanted to hurt the young samurai, but there were just some things one could never learn from a book, no matter how many times one read it. She had hoped that her earlier outburst might have made Kirara understand things more clearly, but with a resigned sigh, Nasami was forced to admit that even that had failed to make much of an impression on the water priestess.

"You can't think that way," Katsushiro protested. "I chose to walk the path of the samurai of my own free will."

As Nasami watched, she saw Katsushiro lift his hand and gently stroke Kirara's hair, half in reassurance and sympathy, half a caress.

"It's only natural that the path ahead of me would be rocky sometimes," he whispered, and the samuraiko winced and turned away.

"If you only knew how much, Katsushiro," Nasami murmured as she moved deeper into the shadows. "If you only knew..."

Oblivious to the woman standing nearby, Katsushiro and Kirara stepped outside and walked over to where Kirara had hung the Kanna battle flag outside her home. The young man stared up at it, watching it flutter in the breeze, remembering how proud he had felt the first time had seen it, had felt accepted by the farmers as a samurai like the others...

... remembering how it felt to be struck by Kambei after killing the bandit, remembering how it felt to take up his sword after taking his first life...

... remembering how it felt to weep in Nasami's arms that night in the river.

"I want to be able to feel proud that I chose to become a samurai," he said aloud, staring up at the flag. "This uneasiness I feel... I think now I'm finally beginning to understand what Kyuzo-_dono_ meant when he said that he wanted to live."

"Oh, Katsushiro," Kirara said helplessly, but then came another voice.

"'If only we could so easily leave behind those parts of ourselves that pain us.'"

Both Katsushiro and Kirara jumped, and the young samurai whirled, hand instinctively going to his sword before he saw the samuraiko standing in the shadows.

"Nasami-_dono_! What are you doing here?" he asked, embarrassed that he had walked straight past her without ever noticing she was there.

"I came looking for you," she replied, stepping down off the porch and walking toward them. "Shichiroji has asked me to give him some recommendations on more permanent fortifications for Kanna, and I'd like you to come with me."

"Of course," he said hastily, bowing quickly to Kirara and stepping to Nasami's side, and together they walked off into the forest. As they moved toward the first of the outposts they had created prior the bandits' attack, Katsushiro kept glancing at the samuraiko as though about to speak, but then changed his mind.

"Come on, out with it already," she said at last, startling him.

"I'm sorry, it's just... how long were you standing there before?"

"Long enough to realize that you are both still so very naive, despite your circumstances," Nasami said wearily. "But I can't fault either of you for it. Innocence is a rare thing in the world, Katsushiro, and part of me wishes that you had time to savor it and enjoy it as you should. But innocence is often one of the first casualties on the path to becoming a samurai."

She looked over at him. "So tell me... what _do_ you think Kyuzo-_sama_ meant when he said that he wanted to live?"

Katsushiro blushed slightly. "Well... although Kyuzo-_dono_ acts very stoic and reserved, the way a samurai should, I just... keep getting the feeling that there's so much he keeps hidden away, as though he's afraid to let go." His blush intensified at the idea of calling the other samurai afraid, but to his surprise, Nasami nodded.

"Very perceptive, Katsushiro. You're right... it's something that all samurai learn to do. Intense emotion is like a thief, stealing away that which a samurai treasures - serenity, loyalty, focus, discipline. But when one does it too much, one has become too focused on the notion of survival, instead of on living. To survive is not enough. One must remember to live, while still keeping life in balance."

Katsushiro stopped in the middle of the path, and as Nasami stopped as well, she turned and saw a great sorrow in his face. "You mean... like Gorobei-_dono._"

"Yes," Nasami agreed softly, her voice shaking slightly. "Like Gorobei."

They turned and kept walking.

* * *

The next day, in a determined effort to cheer up Kikuchiyo, Komachi and Okara invited him fishing. But while the two girls were busy trying to catch fish, the machine samurai remained just as morose as before, often staring off at nothing. 

Both girls were concerned at seeing their 'sidekick' so down and depressed.

"Hey, sidekick, what's wrong?" Okara asked finally. "I've never seen you this quiet."

Katsushiro, who was leaning over the water and staring moodily at his own reflection, didn't look up. "What do you think a samurai is?" he asked, wondering if maybe the girls had an answer to his questions.

"Somebody like you, you big goof," Okara replied, not entirely certain why Kikuchiyo was asking in the first place.

"Huh?" That obviously wasn't the answer he'd been expecting, because Kikuchiyo turned to look at her in surprise.

"Kiku's feeling kinda lonely now," Komachi whispered to Okara.

"How come?"

"Because Kambei's isn't here."

Okara thought about that one for a moment, and realized that the other girl was right. With all the rebuilding and such, she had noticed that Kambei had left, and that some of the other samurai were less than happy with his decision. "Oh, yeah. That makes sense."

"Shut up!" Kikuchiyo said defensively. Of all the emotions he'd felt when the other samurai had left, he'd hardly have expected loneliness to be one of them.

Komachi, however, was eager to prove she was right. "Kiku acts like he doesn't like him, but he's followed Kambei from the start!"

"But Kambei's fighting a one-man war now," Okara said thoughtfully. "He's not letting the other samurai help."

"Yeah," Komachi agreed. "Momotaro and Heihachi are busy rebuilding stuff, but everyone else is just bored."

"_Everyone else_ has other interests, at least," Okara said meaningfully, leering at Komachi. "But farming's the only other thing Kiku knows, but he's no good at it now."

"Still, they shouldn't just replace him!" Komachi said, defending her hero, when she was suddenly startled by a yank on her pole. "Yah! What are you doing, you dumb fish?"

"OH, ENOUGH ALREADY, OKAY?" Kikuchiyo shouted, sitting up. "I'm a samurai, damn it! Now it's time for me to start acting like one!"

And with that, he clambered to his feet, and stalked off toward the village with a new purpose.

* * *

Kirara and Katsushiro were visiting with Rikichi, the young farmer still laid up by the broken ribs he'd sustained during the battle with the Nobuseri. The two were filling him in on what had been going on in the village in the meantime, but Katsushiro's mind kept going back to the fact that Kambei had left all of them behind. Although he agreed with Shichiroji's suggestion that Kambei's relationship with Nasami remain secret, he was still struggling with the notion that his _sensei_ had gone off without him. 

"But why would he just leave like this, without asking for our help?" he said aloud. "Especially if he's gone to the Capital like we think? He won't be able to get past their defenses alone."

"Kambei has more wisdom than us all," Kirara reminded him. "He wouldn't do anything unless he had a good plan."

"The priestess is right about that," Rikichi agreed. "And Kyuzo must have had a plan of his own, because he's disappeared as well."

"I'm not surprised," Katsushiro sighed. "The whole reason he came here was to battle _sensei_ after we won. With _sensei_ gone, there's no challenge, and no reason to stay."

"That does sound like Kyuzo," Kirara said ruefully.

Katsushiro looked pensive. "The rice is safe, but the seven kami protecting it have been separated."

"Kami?" Kirara asked, startled, but Rikichi gave a faint smile as he remembered Heihachi cheerfully expounding on the spiritual value of rice.

"Oh, yeah... I'd almost forgotten that. Although in theory, there would be eight, if we included Nasami-_sama_."

"Personally, I think she's more a representation of Lady Sun than rice," Katsushiro said, smiling, when they suddenly heard Kikuchiyo's voice bellowing from outside.

"HEY, RIKICHI!"

The big machine samurai stuck his head through the doorway. "I'm getting out of here! Can't let that mule Kambei hog all the glory!"

"What are you talking about?" Rikichi asked, puzzled, but Katsushiro frowned.

"Wait a minute, you're going off to help rescue Sanae? But _sensei_ left us here for a reason! We need to help protect the village!" He got no farther than that when Kikuchiyo grabbed him by the front of his jacket and lifted him bodily up off the floor.

"Decision time, kid! Samurai or sheep, which are you?" The challenge in Kikuchiyo's voice rang loud and clear.

_Nasami grinned. "After all, one should 'be more afraid of an army of sheep led by a wolf than an army of wolves led by a sheep.'"  
"So the peasants of Kanna are sheep?" Rikichi said to Nasami in disbelief.  
"Actually, in that outfit, I don't know_ what _to call you, Rikichi…"_

Katsushiro's eyes narrowed. "I'm samurai," he replied, his voice soft but firm.

"That's right!" Kikuchiyo crowed. "And it's time to step up! Kambei may treat us like children, but you know in your heart what a _true_ samurai would do! We have an opportunity... no, an _obligation_ to find Rikichi's wife! We can do it! And we can show up that crusty old jerk while we're at it! Come on, I know you're itching for a good fight!"

The call of the battlefield... the song of the sword... the pounding of blood through his veins... all of it flashed through Katsushiro's mind in a single instant.

And he nodded to Kikuchiyo.

Without another word, the two samurai turned and left Rikichi's house to prepare for their departure.

_To be continued_...


	35. No Matter the Cost

_Note: Last chapter was everybody BUT Kambei, so this chapter is ALL him. (I got the idea from a pair of the **Doctor Who: New Adventures** novels: Birthright, which features the Doctor's companions, but not the Doctor, and Iceberg, which features only the Doctor, without his companions.) _

_Talk about TENSION... from the moment I saw the scene in the trailer of Kambei kneeling at the execution block, my heart just stopped. And for those of you who've seen the whole series, when Kambei swipes a knife from one of the guards and plunges it into the tank... that look on his face THROUGH the glass is one of the most unbelievably disturbing things I ever saw in that whole series..._

_Topped only by his reaction when Sanae drops her bombshell. You could literally SEE the horror in his eyes._

_I LOVE THIS SERIES!_

_For this chapter, I decided to draw once again from that sadly-neglected genre - computer game soundtracks. The music for this chapter is the haunting track "Catherine's Freedom" (how appropriate) from the soundtrack to the computer game RIVEN._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Thirty-Five_

He was standing on a parapet looking down at her, his dark grey eyes wide with horror, oblivious to all of the noise of the crowd, the chattering and shouting and racket of the city.

Kneeling at the execution block, she was quietly praying, her long white hair hiding her face as she bowed her head, the axe hanging poised in the air.

The executioner looked back at Ukyo, but the young man was watching the woman with a smile, eagerly taking in the scene, almost savoring the despair that emanated from her. Then Ukyo glanced over at the executioner.

"Oh, go ahead and kill her," he said with a dismissive wave of one hand, but even in the middle of the chaos, Kambei heard him.

"NASAMI!"

Nasami froze, her head coming up and her eyes sweeping the crowd.

With an incoherent cry of fury, Kambei leapt down and charged straight at the execution block, his katana leaping free of its saya into his hand faster than eyes could follow. A dozen guardsmen lunged between him and Nasami, but he cut them down with barely a thought, killing anyone who tried to stop him. Behind them came some of the assassins that Ukyo had added to his ranks, but they fared no better against him as his sword flashed in the evening sun, singing its song of death and glory. There was no restraint in his attacks anymore, no careful planning for each stroke. This was sheer effortless swordsmanship that only ever came with the absolute mastery of skill, fueled by the single thought of saving a woman he loved.

The crowd panicked and scattered in every direction, frantically trying to escape the mad samurai who was screaming in rage.

Cursing, the executioner got a firm hold on his axe.

But even as Kambei glanced up and saw the axe rise once more over her head, he ignored the reinforcements that were charging toward him, and saw her lips forming words for him alone.

"I love you," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "Bring my sword home for me..."

"NOOOOO!" he screamed.

Ukyo laughed aloud.

Nasami closed her eyes.

The axe descended.

* * *

With a jerk, Kambei sat bolt upright with a choked cry, his heart pounding, his hand clutching his katana so tightly that his knuckles were a bloodless white. 

"Great samurai! Great samurai, are you all right?"

Slowly he became aware of Honoka's almost panicking voice, calling to him over and over, and as he blinked, the last fragments of the dream cleared from his vision, and his eyes focused on the woman kneeling beside him.

"I'm... all right," he whispered, but he could barely keep from trembling. His heart was still slamming a frantic rhythm inside his chest, and in his ears he could still hear Ukyo's triumphant laughter.

Kambei staggered to his feet, stumbled outside and over to a large barrel of water that Honoka had outside her house, and plunged his head into it, trying to wake himself up. As he surfaced again, gasping, he shook out his long hair and ran his hands over his face.

"Is... is there anything I can do?" Honoka was stunned at seeing the samurai so absolutely distraught, but he shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"No. It was... only a dream." But still, Kambei was terribly shaken. It had been so _real_...

"Were... were you dreaming about the battle in Kanna?" Honoka asked hesitantly, but Kambei shook his head again. Then the woman glanced up and saw the Shikimoribito were watching them intently, and she looked back over at the samurai. "I'll leave you alone for a little while, then. I should return to my work, if that's all right."

"Of course, go ahead," he agreed, and she turned to go. "And Lady Honoka..."

The peasant woman turned back.

"Thank you for your concern."

"You're welcome, great samurai." With that, she left Kambei alone with his thoughts.

The samurai went back inside the dimly lit house and sat on the floor, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his forehead on his knees, trying to calm his mind. Ironically, in spite of the fact he had left Nasami behind for her own safety, he desperately wished the woman were here. Resolutely, he dragged his mind back to the task at hand - finding a way to the Capital.

Upon his arrival the day before, he had tried to persuade the Guardians to guide him to the Capital, but the Shikimoribito had flatly refused. In their eyes, to move against the Capital in any way would put their trade arrangements in jeopardy, and as such, Kambei had been told in no uncertain terms that he would need to find another way. But the determined samurai was not put off that easily. Anyone willing to enter in trade agreements had to be willing on some level to negotiate.

The only trick was finding something to negotiate with.

Later that afternoon, he went searching for Honoka, hoping that she might be able to shed some insight on the Guardians' way of thinking, and what might appeal to them.

He found her working by one of the strange, twisted trees that grew from the rice the peasants cultivated underground, harvesting the sap that the Shikimoribito used as sustenance.

"Lady Honoka, I was hoping that you might be able to help me understand the Shikimoribito. You've lived among them for some time now, and are familiar with how they think. How reasonable are the Guardians willing to be, in terms of negotiation?"

"The Guardians are far too pragmatic to ever risk alienating a trading partner without some clear reward," she replied.

"I see..." Kambei mused, an idea slowly taking shape in his mind. "What if I had a bargaining chip, something to make it worth their time?"

"They're always willing to listen," she assured him, but then her face fell and she turned away. "But it's too much to ask."

Kambei looked at her questioningly, and although she didn't turn around, she could sense his gaze on her.

"You doing all this... just for my sister," she whispered.

"I stand by my promise to you," Kambei said firmly. "I will find your sister. All I ask is that you visit Gorobei's grave someday."

The peasant woman flinched, and her eyes filled with tears as she thought of the cheerful street performer who had delighted the displaced peasants with his tricks.

Suddenly Kambei's eyes went wide as a plan came to mind - one which would gain him access to the Capital, as well as to the Emperor himself, clear Nasami's name, and almost certainly gain the assistance of the Shikimoribito.

However, it was not without tremendous risk, but that Kambei was willing to take.

But worse, if Nasami ever found out, she would never forgive him.

"Lady Honoka, may I ask a favor of you?"

"Of course!"

He got to his feet and settled his katana at his side. "Tell the Guardians... the man who killed the Imperial Envoy was Shimada Kambei. They'll know what you're talking about."

Kambei turned to look at Honoka, and she shuddered at the smile on his face. "The bargaining chip will be me."

* * *

Shortly thereafter, two of the Guardians, along with Kambei, were racing through the caverns via speedboat toward the mouth of the cave, heading for the Capital. 

The samurai had been correct - once the Shikimoribito learned that they were harboring a known fugitive, the chance to curry favor with the Capital was too good to pass up. Kambei, however, was grimly amused at the Guardians' confusion as to why Hyogo would have accused Nasami as the murderer of the Envoy instead.

"Do you know, samurai, why it would be that the bodyguard of Ayamoro would accuse the woman Nasami of murdering the Envoy?"

Kambei shrugged. "Rumor has it that he held something of a grudge against her, although I can't say I know all of the details why."

"Strange that you did not confess your guilt earlier, when we told you that she had been accused."

"My reasons are my own."

For a while, they rode in silence, the Guardians content to leave Kambei to his thoughts.

He found a certain ironic symmetry to the whole thing -as he had been the one to stop Nasami from saving the Envoy's life back in Kougakyo, it was only fair that he should take the blame instead of her.

Somehow, though, he doubted she would understand or accept his way of thinking.

"We'll be outside shortly," said one of the Guardians. "May I ask why you killed the Envoy?"

"What's the saying?" Kambei replied. "'Ask no questions, hear no lies'?"

"I'm merely... curious as to what you could gain by such a reckless act as attacking the Capital."

Kambei smirked at the question. By offering himself, he was being led straight to the Capital, almost certainly guaranteed an audience with the Emperor, placed in a position where he could vindicate Nasami of the Envoy's murder, and be in a place where he might be able to successfully rescue Rikichi's wife and Honoka's sister.

"Nothing at all," he said quietly.

"How utterly pointless."

After nearly a full day of travel, first by boat and later by transport, the Shikimoribito and Kambei arrived at a desolate wasteland.

"This is the Capital," said one of the Guardians, and Kambei followed the Guardian's gaze upward.

Overheard loomed an enormous airship, surrounded by several Nobuseri transports.

"Perhaps it brings back memories for you. What was once the flagship of the old Imperial Fleet is now the center of trade and government for the new merchant empire."

For a long moment, Kambei stood there, lost in his memories of the Great War, but then he realized that his Guardian escorts were patiently waiting for him.

"It's time to go," said one of them, its voice almost gentle, as though the Guardian understood the memories that seeing the Capital had evoked.

As they approached, Kambei was searched, his katana taken from him, and the bindings on his wrists checked before being permitted to enter the Emperor's main audience chamber. Walking through it, Kambei was simultaneously intrigued and somewhat disdainful of how it appeared now, compared to how it had looked during the Great War. Once this chamber would have been the center of operations for the airship; now, it was filled with courtiers and ministers, sparsely furnished and elegant, but strangely... empty-feeling.

Suddenly it was no longer surprising that Nasami had chosen to give up the courtly life and instead walk the path of a samurai warrior. Even after the Great War was over, living in court would have been living in confinement, so she had escaped it once more by undertaking her musha shugyo. A place like this would have been stifling to her spirit.

Many of the other envoys and courtiers whispered behind their sleeves as Kambei and his escorts walked past, but he ignored all of them, and kept his eyes focused on the screened dais before him.

Except once.

Along the way, Kambei's eyes momentarily rested on the portly form of Ayamoro, the Magistrate of Kougakyo. However, given his rather nervous disposition, and the fact that he had not been accorded a seating position of honor, Kambei wondered exactly what had happened to warrant him being brought before the Emperor.

Then suddenly it hit him with the force of a blow, and the samurai went pale.

An Imperial Envoy had been murdered in Ayamoro's palace, and until now, no trace of the murderer had been found, even after the resulting samurai hunt.  
The Shikimoribito, however, had said that Hyogo had accused Nasami of the murder of the Envoy... but Ayamoro had clearly not shared that information.  
Which meant that either Ayamoro knew and was withholding it for some reason... or he never learned of it.  
But the only other person that Hyogo would have told was Ukyo... Ayamoro's son.  
When the murderer had remained at large, Ayamoro must have been called before the Emperor to answer for his failure... and maybe even stripped of his rank.  
Which meant that Ukyo would now be in charge of Kougakyo.  
And that someone who could possibly convince the Emperor that Kambei's guilt was questionable was still at large.

"No," he whispered to himself, gritting his teeth. "There has to be a way..."

* * *

When they reached the foot of the stairs, his guards forced him to a halt, and lifted their weapons in salute. 

"Presenting the Divine Emperor, His Excellency, Lord Amanushi!" the Imperial Minister called out, and the screen was slowly lifted so that the Emperor was visible.

And Kambei stared in shock.

The Emperor's body was confined to a regeneration/maintenance tank, his bodily functions monitored and regulated by all manner of equipment and machinery. But despite his diminuitive size and enforced confinement, Kambei could still feel the aura of power that surrounded the man.

And with a single, heartfelt prayer that Nasami would forgive him for even thinking of it, he was fervently grateful that it was he and not the samuraiko being held at spearpoint and forced to endure that penetrating gaze.

He felt the Guardians behind him sink to their knees, and discreetly, they pulled him down as well. However, in a subtle gesture of defiance, Kambei did not kneel, but instead folded his legs beneath him and sat cross-legged instead. This did not go unnoticed by the Emperor, whose glowing eyes narrowed at the implied insult, but Kambei did not look away.

The Shikimoribito prostrated themselves respectfully. "Divine Emperor, we come before with information about the Envoy who was murdered in Kougakyo. This samurai has confessed to the crime, and so in accordance with the Capital's decree, and as an act of good faith on the part of the Shikimoribito, we are turning him over to you. We trust you will punish him as you see fit, and we hope you will remember our fealty."

"_I thank you for your efforts, Guardian_." The Emperor's voice, deep and mechanical, echoed around the chamber, and the Guardians bowed lower.

"Yes, Lord, and we thank you for your grace."

"_Ayamoro_..."

With a start, the former Magistrate got to his feet and moved toward the aisle so that the Emperor could better see him.

"_This samurai is accused of murder in your home. What do you know of him?_"

"Forgive me, Your Grace," stammered Ayamoro, "but I do not recognize this man."

The rear doors of the chamber opened once more, and several people stepped through.

"Presenting the Okata!" the Imperial Minister announced, and the Emperor glanced over at the woman in front.

"_Ah, Sanae... come forward_."

At hearing her name, Kambei turned to look over his shoulder at the woman, wondering if this was Rikichi's wife. Dressed in an elaborate headdress and kimono, her face painted in the usual court fashion, she was attractive, but moved as though tired and distracted. Trailing behind her was a younger woman, not much older than a teenager, dressed as a servant or attendant. She hovered at the older woman's elbow, keeping careful watch on her.

"You asked to see me, my lord?" The woman referred to as the Okata sank into a polite bow not far from where Kambei sat, her voice soft and respectful.

"_Was my summons inconvenient?_" The Emperor's voice was oddly gentle.

"I was just outside enjoying the beautiful day we're having."

"_Sanae, I have called you here because I wish for your insight on this matter. The samurai before us claims to have murdered an Imperial Envoy_."

"I see," she murmured, turning her eyes to meet Kambei's for the first time. The samurai was shaken at the weariness and emptiness he saw there. It was not that Sanae was not intelligent, far from it. But the vibrant spark that so often lit Nasami's eyes, or Kirara's or even Komachi's, was missing from Sanae's violet depths. If that light had ever been there, it had surely been extinguished somehow.

As though aware of the intensity of Kambei's gaze, the Emperor growled, "_Turn your face toward_ me_, samurai. Look well. This is not some corpse you see, but a living being. Thanks to the endless wars of your kind,_ this _is what I have become_."

Kambei took the chance to openly gaze at the Emperor instead.

"_You may address me directly. What is your name?_"

Kambei straightened up slightly, but never took his eyes from the Emperor's. "I am Shimada Kambei."

"_Shimada Kambei?_" The Emperor laughed, but then stopped abruptly as his eyes narrowed in disdain. "_You are a fool_."

The samurai's mouth thinned angrily, but he remained silent.

"_I do not believe you are capable of killing a helpless messenger... imposter!_"

Several of the gathered courtiers gasped in surprise, and immediately the whispers began.

"Is this true, samurai?" the Guardian behind Kambei asked him.

"I've said I killed him... what more do you want?" Kambei asked softly, never looking away from the Emperor.

"_I want my time not to be wasted_," the Emperor snapped. "_What is the point of this charade?_"

Kambei's voice turned almost silky with challenge. "Why don't you guess?"

"Bite your tongue, samurai filth!" Ayamoro shouted angrily, rising to his feet, but the Emperor's voice cut across his.

"_Silence! I did not give you permission to speak!_"

Ayamoro cowered and resumed his seat once more. "I beg your pardon."

"_Kambei Shimada_," the Emperor began, and Kambei's hands clenched into fists. The insult of placing one's given name before one's family name was a grave one, especially when the speaker knew better, and it was clear that the Emperor knew it... just as he knew that Kambei was in absolutely no position to do anything about it. "_Can you tell us the true killer's identity, or is this some ill-conceived joke?_"

Now was the moment of truth. Kambei knew full well that what he was about to do was at the very least going to land him in prison, and at the worst... get him executed. Confessing to the murder of an Imperial Envoy was bad enough... but this...

"_You do not answer? Perhaps a jail cell will loosen your tongue. Take him away_."

"Shikimoribito, you are excused!" the Imperial Minister declared, and the two Guardians bowed once more and rose to their feet. But as they stepped back from Kambei, and two of the guards advanced, Kambei's entire body tensed.

"I won't let you have her," he whispered to the Emperor. "I'll kill all of you first."

And in an instant, he made his choice.

Leaping straight up, he tucked his legs as close in to his body as he could, and brought his chained hands from behind him to before him. Two lightning-fast strikes immobilized the approaching guards, and Kambei snatched a dagger from the belt of the nearest before charging up the stairs toward the Emperor's tank.

Focusing his thoughts, just as he had on the Nobuseri ship when he had shattered the door with the mere force of his soul channeled through his sword, Kambei drove the dagger straight into the tank, inches from the Emperor's face. Life support fluid began to drip ominously from the gash, and Kambei continued to lean into his attack, forcing the dagger farther and farther in.

Cries of horror and outrage went up all over the chamber, but the courtiers were paralyzed with fear, afraid that if they acted, Kambei would kill the Emperor outright.

From behind recessed panels came several other guards, all carrying guns, which they immediately pointed at Kambei.

"Don't just stand there!" Ayamoro shrieked. "Shoot him! Shoot the criminal!"

Kambei whirled around, not taking his hand off the dagger. "Go ahead, fire!" he taunted, and the guards froze. "You'll kill your beloved Emperor!"

"Don't listen! He's bluffing!" Ayamoro shouted.

"Do you want to risk it?" Kambei challenged, driving the dagger in even further. "Think very hard about where the bullets you fire at me will come to rest!"

The guards didn't dare move, and for a moment, it seemed as though time itself had stopped.

"This is blasphemy," Ayamoro whimpered, aghast.

"Let's be reasonable here!" the Imperial Minister called from his place at the base of the stairs, his voice pleading.

"I'll spare his life on one condition," Kambei called out. "Let the women go!"

The girl next to Sanae gave a joyful gasp, but Sanae herself seemed oddly distant.

Kambei glanced down at the two women kneeling on the floor. "Are you the Sanae from Kanna Village, wife of Rikichi?"

Sanae's only answer was to rise to her feet and slowly move forward, never taking her eyes from Kambei and the Emperor, each step measured and careful.

Kambei looked away from her for a moment to meet the eyes of the younger girl. "And the rest of the women?"

"They're in their chambers!" the girl called back.

The whole court seemed to hold its collective breath as Sanae walked forward and began to climb the steps, and even the Emperor appeared to be wondering what Sanae would do when she reached the top of the stairs.

"Apologies, Amanushi-_dono_," Kambei murmured quietly as he watched Sanae approach. "You will act as our shield."

"_Coward_," the Emperor spat at him, and Kambei turned to him with narrowed eyes.

But his attention was shattered when Sanae knelt beside him, and grabbed the back of his robes, her eyes lifted to his in a pleading expression.

"I will not leave with you."

Kambei froze in horror, convinced he could not have heard what he thought he did.

But he had.

"My Amanushi needs me, and I cannot leave his side!"

Time stopped for Kambei, a single thought in his mind.

"_No_..."

Absolutely dumbfounded, he stared down at the woman who was on her knees, begging him to spare the life of the man who had abducted her. He felt as though his mind were about to shatter into a thousand pieces, so stunned was he at Sanae's plea. Kambei had believed that Sanae had wished to escape her captors, and to return to her husband, but as he looked down at her, he realized that Sanae would rather die than leave the Emperor behind.

And in that endless moment, Kambei realized he had made a terrible mistake... one that would cost him his life.

"Please, I beg you, have mercy!" she whispered, as the girl who was with her mounted the stairs behind her.

"Sanae, what are you saying?" she asked in disbelief.

"I love him," Sanae begged. "I adore my Emperor with all my heart."

And as Kambei stared down into her eyes, he knew with a sinking feeling that she was telling the absolute truth. This woman truly loved the Emperor... and try as he might, even to save the woman he cared for more than life itself, he could not destroy that love.

In the tank behind him, the Emperor began to laugh. "_Perhaps now would be the time to mention this woman is carrying my child_."

Kambei's eyes flashed to his, and the Emperor stared back at him implacably.

"_Your move, samurai_."

It would be so easy to drag Sanae off, regardless of her wishes... use the Emperor as a human shield and escape to safety. They could be out of the Capital and away, and the Capital's guards helpless. The women would be free, Nasami would be safe... but he couldn't make himself do it.

To protect his own love, he would not sacrifice another's. And the only thing that made that thought even remotely bearable was that if she were in his position, Nasami would do the exact same thing.

_Nasami... forgive me..._

He let go of the dagger and bowed his head.

The Emperor chuckled once more as his guards closed in. "_Well, now... isn't this amusing_..."

_To be continued_...


	36. Return to Kougakyo

_Note: After the tension of the last chapter, things get a 'brief' breather in this one. To all of you who sent me reviews for "No Matter the Cost," I am glad you all enjoyed having the crap scared out of you! But fear not, Nasami is not going to die just yet… but things are going to get ugly from here on out..._

_For the LiveJournal readers who are enjoying my story, please do spread the word, and don't be afraid to leave reviews on my LJ if you'd rather not leave them on here! (I just like being able to send thank-yous to the reviewers... I know, it's silly, but true. If you're gonna take the time to offer an opinion, the least I can do is take the time to say thanks.)_

_The music for this chapter is from a soundtrack I sought for years, and then was delighted to find as a double CD on eBay – the gentle "Shetahn to Casablanca" from THE BLACK STALLION RETURNS._

**

* * *

****The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Thirty-Six_

"Out of the question! You are a peasant, not a warrior!"

Kirara tried to make the older woman understand. "I understand that, Grandmother, but I…"

Tetsu cut her off. "No! I do not think you do!"

"But why shouldn't I be allowed to go with them?" Kirara pleaded.

"Because these men are going off into battle, my dear. What purpose would a water priestess serve in the midst of war?"

Kirara's eyes were somber, remembering a day of rain and sorrows and death.

"_You volunteered to find samurai to defend Kanna Village. You went to Kougakyo looking for samurai. You offered them rice, hired them to kill the Nobuseri for you, led them here to Kanna, all because you were too cowardly to fight for your village, your rice, and your lives_."

The samuraiko's words rang through Kirara's mind as clearly as they had the day she had spoken them, just as they had for the past several nights as she had lain awake thinking about what to do now. No matter what Nasami believed about her, Kirara had not forgotten what the older woman had said, but it was much, much harder to understand and accept than she had initially believed.

"I have a responsibility as the one who brought the samurai here," she said at last. "And I intend to see this war through to its finish."

Tetsu studied Kirara intently, and saw how she was only barely hanging onto her composure. "You do not need to prove yourself as a samurai, Kirara. I know what Nasami-_sama_ said to you that day, and while in many aspects, she is right..."

"No, Grandmother," Kirara interrupted. "She was completely right, and I will prove to her that I do understand what I have done by bringing this war to Kanna Village." She clenched her fists. "But I will not be able to do that until I have earned back her respect."

Her grandmother, however, was not convinced. "You speak with the maturity of an adult… however, I fear that you do not yet understand your own feelings."

The young woman swallowed hard. "I think the real problem is I understand my feelings too well." She looked down at her hands where they rested in her lap… and at the bandage she had carried with her since the day the samurai had rescued her from the Nobuseri ship.

"_I'm not blind, Kirara. I can see how much you admire Kambei-san, and he is certainly appealing in his own way. Between that and the fact that he saved your life, the attraction is understandable_."

"We've been working closely for some time... now, I find my gaze lingering on him." Her words came hesitantly, painfully brought to the surface by her memories of the talk she and Nasami had shared by the lake in the Guardians' caverns. "I've done my best to deny these feelings, but instead, all I feel is shame."

Tetsu's voice softened as she finally began to understand her granddaughter's motivations. "And the samurai?"

"He hasn't noticed."

The old woman sighed, knowing full well that even if the samurai in question returned Kirara's affections, the chances of such a relationship surviving the gap in class were slim. "Can you conceal these feelings?"

A hint of the old pride came back into Kirara's eyes as she straightened up. "I am a water priestess. I will do whatever is best for our people."

"It will be difficult;" Tetsu warned her, but Kirara shook her head and smiled sadly, and Tetsu sighed once more. "Well, you're stronger than I was." And at last, she nodded. "Very well... if the samurai will allow you to accompany them, then you may go. All I can do is remind you to be careful."

* * *

"So you really intend to go after Kambei-_san_?" Nasami asked Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo as they sat beside Gorobei's grave. 

"Yes," Katsushiro replied, his eyes on the swords he and Kikuchiyo had placed there as a mark of respect to the dead. "Kikuchiyo-_dono_ and I can do little here, and the purpose of a samurai is to protect."

"And what if the Nobuseri return?"

"Well, we've seen just how well you can handle the bandits!" Kikuchiyo said cheerfully. "Who was it again who took out a whole platoon of Nobuseri reinforcements by herself?"

"I didn't do it by myself," Nasami reminded him impatiently, "the peasants did a lot of it, but now they're busy harvesting, and their thoughts have turned from war. They're not as prepared as they were a week ago."

Neither Katsushiro nor Kikuchiyo said anything, and finally Nasami gave up. "Fine, it's not like you need my permission to go off after him." She sank down into a cross-legged position to Kikuchiyo's left, her chin in her hands.

"Why not come with us?" Kikuchiyo asked her. "You don't have to just sit around here and sulk. Come on, you know you want to go..."

The samuraiko shook her head. "I can't, Kikuchiyo. "

"Oh, stop being so proud, for crying out loud!"

"It has nothing to do with pride!" she said angrily, glaring at him. "It has to do with honor... mine, as well as his. And furthermore, I won't go chasing after him like some lovestruck child."

"You mean like Lady Kirara."

Startled, both Nasami and Kikuchiyo turned to look at Katsushiro, who was sitting with his eyes closed as though in meditation. Without looking at either of them, he sighed and bowed his head.

"That's what you were going to say, isn't it, Nasami-_dono_?"

Nasami's cheeks went slightly red, and Katsushiro finally turned to look at her.

"That's why you don't want us to go. If we leave, Lady Kirara would most likely insist on coming with us."

"Yes," Nasami said softly. "I'm sorry, Katsushiro."

He went back to staring morosely at Gorobei's grave, while Kikuchiyo turned around at the sound of footsteps and saw Heihachi and Shichiroji climbing up the hill.

"Hey, what are you goats doing up here?"

"Now is that any way to speak to fellow samurai?" Heihachi teased, and Kikuchiyo turned around in a huff.

"Oh, _sorry_, goat-_dono_!" Kikuchiyo said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Look, I'm pissed at you guys! How come you didn't tell us you were planning a rescue mission too! We're part of this team, and so is Nasami, and you didn't even ask her, either!"

"Sorry, big guy, we weren't trying to exclude you," Heihachi said apologetically. "Or Nasami-_dono_, for that matter."

"Last time we were on the road, Katsushiro got injured, you let the Nobuseri kidnap you, and Nasami was hiding out after being accused of murder," Shichiroji reminded the machine samurai with a grin. "Not the best of records!"

"Ah, excuses, excuses!" Kikuchiyo bellowed over him. "Just because you're older than us doesn't mean we're children!" He glanced over at Nasami. "Well, maybe Nasami's not young, too, but..."

She arched an eyebrow at him, and Kikuchiyo hurriedly glanced over at Katsushiro, who was once again sitting with his eyes closed.

"Come on, Katsu, help me out here!" When Katsushiro ignored him, he leaned closer and raised his voice. "Helloooo?"

Finally, Katsushiro turned and looked at the other two samurai standing behind him, his face resolute. "My place is with _sensei_, fighting at his side."

Shichiroji studied him thoughtfully. "Because you think rebuilding a village is somehow beneath you as a samurai?"

Katsushiro suddenly realized how his comment must have sounded and looked away in embarrassment. "No, that's not what I meant at all," he stammered.

The fair-haired samurai sighed and glanced over at Nasami, who shrugged as if to say, '_Don't look at me_,' and then he looked back over at Katsushiro. "Have you taken a moment to think about _why_ Kambei-_sama_ might have left you behind this time?"

Katsushiro opened his mouth to argue, and then closed it again, looking confused. "I... I don't..."

Nasami's sigh was faint, but all four samurai turned to look at her. "Do you honestly believe Kambei would have deliberately left you here so if he hadn't trusted you along with the others to protect Kanna from any reprisals?"

"Trusted... me?" Katsushiro's eyes were wide, but Kikuchiyo burst out laughing.

"Oh, get real, Nasami, that bastard doesn't trust anyone but himself."

"If he were that concerned about you being able to handle things, he would have insisted on taking you with him. He trusts you enough to leave you and Katsushiro here to defend Kanna and the farmers while Heihachi and Shichiroji focused their attention on rebuilding." She got to her feet and her eyes met his - even seated, Kikuchiyo was nearly as tall as Nasami was while standing. "But I'm not going to waste my breath trying to change your minds. If anyone knows how formidable samurai pride is, it's me."

Bowing to the four samurai, and then to Gorobei's grave, she walked off into the forest.

"I'm thinking that could have been handled better," Shichiroji said after several moments, and he shot a glance over at Kikuchiyo and Katsushiro.

"What's that look for?" Kikuchiyo said defensively, glaring back at Shichiroji, who groaned and rubbed the back of his head.

"It's hard enough that she let him leave, rubbing salt in the wound is hardly going to help."

"But we weren't-" Katsushiro began, but Heihachi stopped him by holding up a small bundle.

"Let's just leave it at that for now. Here, take some rice for your trip. Kanna grows the best in the world, you know."

Katsushiro recognized the rice as the peace offering and the hint to drop the subject that it was, and took it with a faint nod. "Thank you, Heihachi."

With a loud creaking and a puff of steam, Kikuchiyo got to his feet and yanked the remnant of his sword from the ground. "All right, Katsu, let's move!"

Heihachi took one look at the broken sword and started to laugh. "That sword's not going to do you much good, is it?"

Kikuchiyo shrugged and propped the sword on his shoulder. "Well, I'll get Masamune to fix it up for me!"

That sparked an idea for Katsushiro, who looked up at the big machine samurai. "Masamune seems pretty well-travelled... I'd be willing to bet he can tell us where we can find the capital."

"Why not just ask Nasami?" Kikuchiyo asked matter-of-factly, but Katsushiro shook his head.

"No, I don't think she'll tell us... not if she wouldn't tell _sensei_. We'll just have to hope that Masamune can point us in the right direction."

As they prepared to leave, however, they saw Rikichi come hobbling up the hill, supported by Gozaku.

"Rikichi!" Kikuchiyo said in surprise, and Heihachi and Shichiroji also looked over their shoulders to see the farmer approaching, a determined glint in his eyes.

"Please... I want to go with you."

"I'm afraid you're in no condition to go to war," Katsushiro said seriously. "But I swear to you, we will bring your wife back."

Rikichi looked downhearted, but there was no arguing with Katsushiro's logic... the bandages he still wore wrapped around his ribs and the crutch at his side were proof of it.

However, as Kikuchiyo and Katsushiro were crossing the rebuilt bridge out of Kanna, they were brought up short by cries from behind them.

"Please wait!"

"KIKU!"

The two samurai turned and saw Kirara and Komachi sprinting after them, and the two girls came skidding to a halt, panting.

"What is it, sprout?" Kikuchiyo asked, peering down at the child.

"Please, you've got to take us with you!" Kirara pleaded.

"Yeah, you've gotta!" Komachi chimed in, but Kikuchiyo shook his head.

"You know we're not going off to play," he said seriously, but Kirara clenched her fists, looking defiant.

"We understand the risk involved, and we're prepared for whatever comes! Please, we can help!"

"Help us how?" Kikuchiyo protested. "This is war we're talking about!"

Komachi, however, would not be dissuaded, either. "But if you go without me, I'll be worried sick about you! And you don't want that!"

"No, of course not," the big machine samurai laughed, and Komachi giggled up at him.

Katsushiro, however, was clearly reluctant to bring Kirara and Komachi along... not only because of the risks, but because he could also hear Nasami's comments from earlier about the real reasons for Kirara's insistence.

"I can't expose you to any more danger," he said at last, turning to face Kirara, and immediately regretted it when he saw the plea in her eyes.

Kikuchiyo didn't help matters any when after a few moments, he remarked, "You know... Kirara is pretty good at finding things with that crystal of hers..."

Now facing three-to-one odds, Katsushiro gave up, knowing that he would never be able to tell the girls to stay behind, and that given Kirara's stubborn streak, she and Komachi might well have ended up choosing to follow them anyway.

He turned on his heel and continued crossing the bridge. "Don't leave my side."

"I won't," Kirara said softly, wondering what had upset the young samurai so much.

Komachi, on the other hand, cheerfully scrambled up onto Kikuchiyo's shoulder with the declaration, "And don't you leave mine, sidekick!"

"I couldn't if I tried," Kikuchiyo said ruefully.

As the four of them set out, they were unaware that Tetsu and the Elder were watching them leave.

"A thing such as this would never have been allowed in older times," the Elder remarked quietly.

"Perhaps our Kirara is simply not meant to be a water priestess any longer," Tetsu replied, watching her granddaughters head off into the world once more.

"Only she and the waters can decide that," the Elder corrected her, until a soft voice spoke from behind them.

"'The elements are not the means to an end… they are the beginning and the end.'"

Turning, the two elderly peasants saw Nasami standing nearby, also watching the four on the bridge leave.

"Great samurai, forgive us, we did not know you were there," Tetsu said, bowing, but Nasami shook her head, her eyes on Kirara.

"The world is changing, Tetsu-_san_... and your granddaughter is changing with it." She shrugged. "What Kirara will become, however... that is up to Kirara."

* * *

Far away from Kanna, in the airship that was the Capital, Kambei sat pensively in his cell, awaiting his fate and quietly damning himself for his hesitation in the throne room earlier. Locked in a jail cell, there was little he would be able to do to save Nasami, and even worse, if Ukyo were to somehow make the truth known about Hyogo's accusation, the samuraiko was still facing a potential death sentence. 

And right now, he missed her more than he cared to admit.

"Damn," he said aloud.

Suddenly he heard the mechanical clank indicating that the door was opening to the larger room in which his cell was situated.

"Hello, I've brought dinner for you, and for the prisoner as well," he heard a young female voice say cheerfully. Then the door clanked shut again, and he saw a young woman approach holding a tray. Narrowing his eyes to peer at her more closely, he saw that it was the teenager he had seen earlier in the Emperor's main audience chamber, the one who had been escorting Sanae.

The door closed behind her as she crossed the room, and he tilted his head back to lean against the bars, his eyes closed once more.

"Let me guess, great samurai," he heard, and he opened them again to look at her as she crouched down near the bars to slide his food into his cell. "You're wondering what happened to Sanae... how she could show such affection for the man who plucked her from her home, but it's more complicated than that."

Kambei glanced down at the tray, and saw that she had taken care to bring him a proper meal instead of just meager prison fare. The gesture was appreciated, but right now, however, Kambei was more interested in information than in food, and he turned to look at the girl.

"Did the Emperor speak the truth about Sanae? Is she with child?"

"Yes," the girl said softly, and Kambei frowned.

"I see." For a moment, he wondered if Sanae's pregnancy had been a willing one or not, but the young woman's next statement answered his question as though she were reading his mind.

"But it's not what you think. She only did it for our sake. She told us that as long as the Emperor favored her, he would leave the other girls alone. It was just for show, but now I think she's starting to believe her own act." She leaned closer to look into his cell, her eyes pleading. "Please... you have to do something!"

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm about to be executed," Kambei said sardonically. "I'd like nothing more than to help her, but I'm in no position to do so."

"Liar."

Kambei was so surprised that he met the girl's gaze directly.

She smirked at him. "Yeah, you've got something planned. That's why you went through so much trouble to get caught... because you have a plan to rescue all of us. The good news is, I can help you."

He suddenly became aware that the young woman was much brighter and more determined than he had first given her credit for. If that were the case, the girl could potentially be a very valuable ally. In fact, she almost reminded him of someone...

"How many women are there in total?" he asked her, trying to figure out the resemblance.

"About ten, including me."

"By any chance, do you know if one of them has an older sister named Honoka?"

The girl started. "Yeah... I do."

"You don't say..." he purred. Things might be looking up for him already...

"My name is Mizuki," the girl said with a smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Kambei Shimada."

Kambei's grin in the shadows of his cell was almost feral.

_To be continued_...


	37. Absolute Power

_Note: Ah, now we're back to my favorite scheming bastard. It's funny… when the series first started, I mentally wrote off Ukyo as this kind of nancy-boy prat, but my God, he's scary by the end of the series! (And kudos to Anthony Bowling, the FUNimation voice actor for Ukyo, for running the gamut from foppish to frightening so well.)_

_For a while, I was really stuck on what music to use for this chapter. Inspiration seemed lacking, and I just sat and fretted for the longest time until I finally got up and went looking through my movies to watch something else to get me out of the mental rut I was in. What did I end up choosing? Another great 'scheming bastard' movie… THE USUAL SUSPECTS. __And I must say, the opening track, called "The Water," worked beautifully for this chapter._

_By the way, I was able to create my first poll in my LiveJournal for THE SWORD OF THE SOUL, so please hit my profile and grab the address of my LJ, and cast your votes!_

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Thirty-Seven_

Ukyo was seated in the main audience chamber of the Magistrate's palace, reading through the latest missive sent from the Capital, when he became aware of a knocking at the door.

"What now?"

"I am sorry to disturb you, my lord, but you asked to see me," he heard.

"Ah, Tessai, do come in."

The door slid open and Tessai entered the room, bowing.

"Huh… it says here that the Envoy's assassin has been arrested," he announced as the other man approached. "That's nice… I wonder what he's like."

"'He?'" Tessai repeated. "I don't understand, my lord. I thought… Hyogo had sent you a message that a woman had killed the Envoy."

"And so he did," the young man replied without looking up. "Some samuraiko named Nasami, if I remember correctly. And then poor Hyogo turned up dead, and she vanished off the face of the earth. To tell you the truth, I hadn't given her a second thought until now."

"And yet… someone else has now been accused and arrested?" Tessai frowned, not liking this complication at all. Although he would never say it aloud, Tessai seriously doubted that his young master had forgotten about Hyogo's letter accusing the samuraiko Nasami of murder. Over the last several days, he had begun to realize that he had seriously underestimated the Magistrate's son, both in terms of personality and ambition.

"So it would seem," Ukyo said with relish. "It means that either Hyogo was lying, this man they've captured is lying, or this man Kambei and that woman Nasami were in on it together. I wonder which is true. Of course, we can hardly ask Hyogo about this, now can we?"

"Do you believe that the man they're holding at the Capital is the one who killed Hyogo as well?"

"Who knows? But you did say that the leader of those ragtag ronin my lovely Kirara had hired was named Kambei. Do you suppose it's the same man? Wouldn't that just be a coincidence… and it would place him in Kougakyo the night that the Envoy was killed."

"What do you wish to do?" Tessai asked, his tone respectful and cautious.

"He's a terrorist who incited panic throughout my city. I want to look this man in the eyes… while they're still attached to his body, that is." Ukyo's eyes met Tessai's over the top of the parchment. "Perhaps the time has finally come for me to be reunited with my father."

He tossed the paper aside and got to his feet. "Prepare suitable transportation, we'll leave as soon as we can. But first send a message to the Capital, and request that they delay the execution. I want to see this man before he dies."

"Yes, my lord." Tessai bowed and left the room, leaving Ukyo looking thoughtful.

* * *

"Shimada Kambei…" 

The samurai opened his eyes to see the Imperial Minister standing just outside his cell, flanked by two armed guards.

"I bring a decision from the Emperor Amanushi," the Minister declared when he saw that Kambei was awake and paying attention. "This decree is final."

Kambei waited to hear his fate, on the outside calm and composed, while on the inside wondering exactly what the Emperor had planned for him.

"You are sentenced to death. In five days' time, you will be beheaded."

For a moment, the samurai closed his eyes and prayed for strength, hoping that he could still somehow save Nasami from the same fate.

"I threatened to kill the Emperor," he said aloud, his tone defiant. "That's a serious charge. Why don't they kill me now and be done with it?"

"Are you that eager to die?" the Minister asked.

"My reasons are my own." Five days was too long to wait to find out exactly what was going on in the outside world… too long to wait to learn if Nasami would live or die…

As though aware of the train of Kambei's thoughts, the Imperial Minister smiled coldly.

"There was a request for delay. Ukyo has asked that your sentence be carried out in Kougakyo."

"Ukyo, eh?"

A chill settled into Kambei's stomach as the Imperial Minister gave him a slightly mocking bow and then departed. If he had needed any proof that Hyogo's letter had fallen into Ukyo's hands, the request for the delay of his execution was all he needed, and internally he damned himself yet again for causing the whole mess by stopping Nasami from saving the Envoy. And now that he was locked in a cell, his chances of sparing her from the machinations of the court were slim to none.

Giving in to a momentary rush of anger, Kambei drove his fist into one of the bars of his cell. "Damn him… and damn me as well," he whispered as he rested his forehead against the bars. Looking down at his fist, he saw where blood had welled up on his knuckles, and with a heavy sigh, he traced a single line on the floor of his cell where it wouldn't be easily seen.

"Five days to go…"

* * *

"Presenting Lord Magistrate Ukyo, of the Kougakyo district!" 

Everyone in the Emperor's main audience chamber turned to look at the young man who entered, trailed by Tessai. Enjoying every minute of the attention, Ukyo sauntered down the aisle toward the Emperor's dais. "No, please, don't get up!" he said mockingly as the courtiers watched and whispered while he passed.

Then Ukyo's eyes rested on Ayamoro, who was watching his son pass by without a single word of acknowledgement. With a single glance, he took in his father's concerned expression, but ignored the man and continued forward. As he approached the dais, his gaze met that of the Imperial Minister, whose mouth curved into a faint smile of recognition. The Minister nodded at him almost imperceptibly, and Ukyo grinned and nodded back.

He was brought up short by the Emperor's command.

"_That's far enough_."

Slowly the screen began to rise, and Ukyo lifted his eyes to see the Emperor in his support tank, Sanae sitting quietly beside him.

The Emperor studied Ukyo intently, and was about to ask him his business at the Capital when his attention was caught by a flashing display from within his support tank. Intrigued, he sent the mental command for more information, and the sensor equipment zoomed in on Ukyo's face, and then on his retinal patterns. And within the tank, the Emperor smiled.

The young man blatantly returned the Emperor's stare, and Ayamoro called out in horror, "On your knees, Ukyo! Show respect!" The guards accompanying Ukyo grabbed him by the arms and were about to force him to kneel when he began to thrash.

"Hey, let go! Tell these machines to get off of me!"

"_So you are Ukyo, successor to Ayamoro_," the Emperor observed, studying the young man, who glared up angrily at him.

"None may speak with the Emperor directly," the Imperial Minister began, but the Emperor cut him off.

"_It is all right, I will allow it_."

"Yes, my lord."

"_Come closer_."

The guards led Ukyo up the stairs until he was standing only a few feet away from the Emperor's tank, but the young man froze in horror when he saw a long tube with a syringe at the end come snaking out of the tank.

"_This may... sting_."

"DON'T!" Ukyo shouted, panicking and trying frantically to break free, but the guards held him fast, and the syringe plunged into his upper arm. He gave a cry of pain, watching in horror as it drew some of his blood.

"_Just bear with me for a moment_."

Immediately information began to flash across the internal surface of the containment tank, studying DNA sequences, genetic information, and biochemical signatures faster than most human eyes could follow. A series of checklists were ran through, information cross-referenced and double-checked until finally a number flashed up on a display.

**_49._**

Down at the foot of the stairs, Ayamoro was staring open-mouthed. "Ukyo... could he really be...?" he gasped.

"_Ukyo, you are without question flesh of my flesh... my forty-ninth clone_."

As the syringe was withdrawn, the two guards on either side of Ukyo released him and stepped back, leaving him rubbing his arm and glaring resentfully at them.

"My lord, is this true?" Tessai hissed to Ayamoro in disbelief. "Is Master Ukyo a clone?"

"_Ayamoro, I thank you for taking my clone into your home. You have honored me well_."

"Emperor, I apologize a thousand times, but I deserve no credit," Ayamoro protested. "When I took him in, I believed he was a mere peasant. I had no idea he was yours."

At Ayamoro's words, the entire court erupted in whispers and speculation, causing the Imperial Minister to shout for silence.

"Forgive my ignorance, Emperor, but why so many clones? Is this not a dilution of the bloodline?" Ayamoro asked hesitantly, clearly reluctant to question divine judgment.

"In order to produce the finest possible heir, several women were implanted with the divine ruler's genetic copy," the Imperial Minister replied after a glance at the Emperor. "After many failed attempts, a farm woman was chosen, finally yielding successful results. The clone was named Ukyo, and through the divine grace of the Amanushi, his identity was hidden among the peasantry, for the only way to establish an heir worthy of the Emperor's name was to ensure that the heir had knowledge of all social classes."

"Come on, enough already!" Ukyo called out, cutting across the Minister's words. "Why should it matter to _you_ what I am? I was born from the Emperor's seed. I have his blood in my veins. I was raised as a peasant, and my adoptive father taught me all about trade. So what am I _really_? Am I... an heir? Am I a peasant? Or am I a merchant?"

"_I will decide what you are_," the Emperor said coldly, and Ukyo turned to him, startled. "_Begin immediate preparations for... the Test_."

* * *

Kambei lay on the floor of his cell, staring up at the ceiling. It had been three days since he had let himself fall into the hands of the Emperor. Three long days of doing nothing but thinking, planning... and waiting. 

He idly wondered what time it was, wondered what was going on in the world around him...

Wondered if Nasami was all right.

He sighed and shifted on the floor, trying to get comfortable. He doubted she would ever forgive him for this, but from the moment he had learned of Hyogo's accusation, he had been plotting how to save her from the dark-haired assassin's duplicity and vengeance. And as painfully humiliating as it was to admit, since that moment, he had been regretting not letting Nasami save the Envoy. As troublesome and problematic as it might have been, the events it could have prevented... the lives it might have saved...

"So how is Kirara these days... _Kambei Shimada_?"

Kambei looked over and saw Ukyo lounging against the door of his cell, a smug grin on his face, and his heart sank within him. He had heard that the young Magistrate had arrived, and from Mizuki, he had heard the gossip that Ukyo might actually be the Emperor's heir, but Mizuki had not yet brought his evening meal, so he'd had no idea if Ukyo had passed the Emperor's test.

Clearly, he had.

"I know you didn't kill the Envoy, by the way," Ukyo said, his voice filled with a malicious amusement. "The Emperor says you did, but I just can't quite believe it for some reason."

"And why would you say that?" Kambei asked, dreading the answer.

"Oh, just something that a little bird told me," Ukyo replied blithely. "So tell me, what does it feel like... waiting to be executed?"

"What is it you're trying to do here?" the samurai asked, trying but not quite succeeding to keep the accusation out of his voice so as not to betray his frustration.

"Why, conquer the world, of course!" Ukyo looked at him in surprise, as though astonished that he even had to ask. Then he leaned even closer and lowered his voice. "By the way... the true murderer is right here in this room."

Kambei leaned his head back against the bars and barely managed to stifle a groan. Deep inside, he had been somehow hoping that Nasami might still be able to discover who had truly killed the Envoy, but even if he could have gotten word to her in time, and even as high-ranking a samurai as she was, her word would never be enough to be taken seriously against a merchant Magistrate in this day and age. And if Ukyo was now the Emperor's true heir, she would be at his mercy if she were ever caught.

"And why would you assassinate the Imperial Envoy?" he finally asked, not exactly certain he wanted to know the answer.

"I only did it because I was asked to," Ukyo admitted. "You see, I was in a position to do someone a favor." He tilted his head and studied the samurai. "But I must admit, I'm curious about one thing."

"And that is?"

"Is the samuraiko Nasami still in Kanna Village?"

Kambei's eyes went wide for just a moment, but that moment was all Ukyo needed, and his grin became even wider. "I'll take that as a yes. Anyway, I have a lot to do, so I'll just let you rest for a while. Pleasant dreams... Kambei Shimada."

With that, Ukyo walked out, leaving Kambei with only a sickening feeling in his heart for company. If Ukyo knew where Nasami really was, then saving the samuraiko might now truly be impossible.

As if in response to his thoughts, he once again heard Nasami admonishing both him and the peasants the last time they had doubted her.

"_From this moment on, the word 'impossible' will not be uttered in my hearing_."

"Oh, Nasami," he whispered into the darkness. "I only wish I could have told you..."

Kambei sighed again and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry..."

He fell into a light sleep, even as his mind wandered.

"_Will you just lie there and wait to die?_" came a soft voice, and Kambei turned his head to see a shadowy figure on the other side of the bars of his cell.

As silently as a ghost, the figure stopped outside the cage and carefully knelt.

"You..." Kambei whispered in awe. "But... how?"

"_Did you think I would let you die here alone?_"

"I said before that I have no intention of dying," Kambei murmured. "But if I must wait, I must wait."

"_If not for death, then for what?_" came the voice again.

"For a samurai, it is not always what you do, but when you do it, that decides the outcome of a battle."

"_And is this a battle?_"

"Mmmm," the samurai said quietly. "Indeed. A battle for honor."

There was the faintest hint of amusement in the voice. "_I thought you once said that every battle you'd ever fought in, you have lost. Will this be the one battle you win_?"

"Yes. But as in all battles, there will be casualties."

Slowly, the figure moved, and the dim light of the room glinted off pale hair.

"_And as in all battles, there must be sacrifices?_"

"Yes."

For a long time, there was only silence as the figure continued its deliberate pacing around his cell. Kambei's eyes followed the movement around the shadowed room.

"Why are you here?" he said at last.

_"We share a bond, you and I,_" came the voice. "_As long as we both live, neither of us is ever truly alone_."

The samurai closed his eyes again. That was certainly true... while rare, it was believed that sometimes there existed between two souls a kharmic bond that neither time nor distance could ever diminish. "I find that thought comforting. But even if I die, you won't be alone."

"_You had this planned all along,_" the voice said softly. "_You never had any intention of saving yourself... only of rescuing the women and restoring my honor_."

"'Sometimes we only see clearly through a lens of pain,'" Kambei said drowsily, remembering his words to Katsushiro so long ago. "Other times, through a lens of impending death. If not our own, then someone we care for."

There was a slight pause. "_Or love?_"

"Yes," he replied without a moment's hesitation, shocked to realize that it was true. He had never spoken the words aloud before... never even dared to let himself even think the words, but now they came easily to his lips. "Or love."

"_I won't let you die,_" came the anguished whisper. "_I can't_."

"That isn't your choice to make."

For a long time, there was silence, but then Kambei heard a soft sound, so faint he was unsure he had even heard it... like a choked sob. Opening his eyes again, he could see dark blue eyes on the other side of the bars, shining with tears.

"Why are you crying?" he asked softly.

"_Damn you, Shimada Kambei... I should never have let you go alone_."

"You had no choice, remember?"

"_But maybe... maybe if I had told you... you would not have left me behind_."

That got his attention. "Told me what?"

"_It... it does not matter anymore._ _You have given up... on yourself... and on us_."

"Never, _anata_," he whispered, reaching through the bars to brush her tears away. But when his fingers would have touched her skin, she disappeared, and Kambei's eyes opened wide.

And suddenly he was awake.

"It was a dream..." he murmured, but then he glanced down at his hand.

His fingertips were damp with tears.

"Nasami?" he whispered, staring into the darkness, but there was no reply.

* * *

Far away, in Kanna Village, the only sound that disturbed the stillness of the night was that of a woman weeping.

* * *

He was standing on the battlefield, wounded and bleeding, but fearlessly staring up at the five enormous mechanized samurai looming over him. The leader of the Benigumo samurai had already killed Kaminari, and even as he watched, Iruko was cut down before his eyes. Kori was weaving in and out of the battle, using his naginata to stay out of the Benigumo's range while cutting them down like sheaves of wheat, while Hiryu was dragging the wounded off the field and doing what he could to either save their lives or commend their souls to the afterlife.

Ignoring the arrow she had already taken through her shoulder, Nasami was valiantly struggling to keep three Raiden divisions at bay singlehandedly while defending Ujiro, the magistrate she had been charged with protecting, but blow after blow rained down on the samuraiko.

All of them were weakening, bloodied, and exhausted, but none of them would yield. In fact, two monumental efforts earlier from Kaminari and Nasami had already managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Even as he looked at his companions, Kori's wakizashi took out another Tobito, while the samuraiko's laughter echoed across the battlefield as she cut down yet another Raiden.

But the arrival of the five Benigumo and their support divisions would turn the tide of the battle once again, and this time, the samurai would lose.

_'If you are in reach of your enemy, he is in reach of you.  
If your enemy is in reach of you, you are in reach of your enemy.'_

He shifted his grip on his katana and wakizashi, then started running straight at the five Benigumo samurai, summoning all of his strength into a powerful yell. It might cost him his life, but he was going to take them with him straight to Jigoku...

Blood streaming down her face and arm, Nasami deflected away an attack from Ujiro, and turned at the fierce _kiai_ shout that echoed all around her.

She saw him lunge straight at the five machine samurai.

She saw him carve through the chest of the first, behead the second, split the third in half, decapitate the fourth, but as he swung at the leader, the enormous samurai let out a vengeful shout of his own.

And even as his katana and wakizashi took the Benigumo apart, she saw the enormous samurai's sword slice him in half...

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Her horrified scream was drowned out by a deafening explosion as the five Benigumo and the samurai were consumed in a blinding flash of light.

She viciously scythed through her attackers, _Mamorimasu_ suddenly blazing with the light of Amaterasu herself, rallying the remaining samurai to her side, yelling at the top of her voice, screaming his name to the heavens as her battle cry.

"_KUROSHIN!_"

Screaming, Nasami came awake, her eyes enormous, her heart pounding. As she stared sightlessly in front of her, the other two samurai had already drawn their weapons against attack, until they realized that they were alone in the house.

Heihachi resheathed his sword and looked over at the samuraiko, who was still staring at nothing, tears streaming down her face. "Nasami-_dono_?" he said softly, carefully moving to sit beside her and rest a hand on her shoulder.

Nasami blinked, then she turned to look at Heihachi, and then at Shichiroji. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered. "It was just a dream..."

"About the last battle of the Great War," Shichiroji said quietly. "Am I right?"

Nasami nodded slowly, wiping away her tears as Heihachi looked over at the other samurai, puzzled.

"You mean the Battle of Shinomen Mori?"

"That's one name for it." The samuraiko's voice was almost hollow. "The other name, the one given by those who were there, was the Night of Dark Fire." She buried her face in her hands and gave a single shuddering sob. "I haven't dreamt of that night in over five years... why now?"

"Perhaps because of your connection to Kambei-_sama_... much like the one you had with..." The blond samurai's voice was deceptively casual, and Nasami flinched. "You and Kambei-_sama_ do share a strong bond, Nasami."

"So what do you think this dream of hers means?" Heihachi asked, getting up and beginning preparations to make Nasami some tea to calm her nerves.

Shichiroji didn't take his eyes off Nasami, whose dark blue eyes were still haunted. "I don't know. I wish I did. But the question now is..." He leaned closer to her. "What are you going to do about it?"

Nasami shuddered.

* * *

"_The ceremony will take place soon. For now, you must become accustomed to life in the Capital_."

"May I ask _you_ a question now?" Ukyo asked as he sat quietly inking a letter in the Emperor's private chamber.

"_Anything you wish_."

Setting down the brush, Ukyo picked up a beautiful jade figurine of a two-headed dragon and held it up where the Emperor could see it. "You see, a long time ago, there was a great and powerful dragon with two heads. One said it wanted to live in the south and dive for big, juicy fish." Ukyo moved the figurine from one side to another as though telling a story to a child. "But the other wanted to live in the north and search the skies for tasty little birds."

Abruptly he opened his hands and let the statue fall to the floor.

"And do you know what happened to that beautiful dragon? Starved to death."

Ukyo got to his feet and moved to crouch down next to the Emperor's life support tank. "Now, my question, Emperor... do you really it's wise for a nation to have two rulers?"

"_It is entirely unnecessary_," the Emperor replied, and Ukyo grinned malevolently at him.

"I so agree."

With a vicious yank, he wrenched several wires and tubes from the tank's support system. In horror, the Emperor thrashed, gasping in pain as the fluids and air he needed to stay alive were cut off.

"Our forebearers have known it for untold years," Ukyo said calmly, placidly watching the Emperor in his death throes. "Even in the greatest of civilizations, crippling imperfections will appear. The government must be willing to change with the times, and after so much struggle, surely you've grown... tired."

Ukyo leaned even closer. "But don't you worry about a thing. I will help ease your burden. After all, I am you and you are me."

The Emperor's movements became slower and slower as the support systems shut down one by one, lights flickering out even as the life ebbed from his body.

"Good night, Emperor," Ukyo said softly as the light faded from the Emperor's eyes and the life support system shut down entirely. With that, he got to his feet and leaned on the tank in supreme self-satisfaction.

"Ah yes, he _is_ me... but _I_... am _so_ much more."

_To be continued_...


	38. The Execution

_Note: I first started writing this chapter long before I had seen the actual episode (I took an educated guess at what was going to happen), and had at first intended to have Nasami show up and save him. But as I watched the series, and saw how my own story was unfolding, I realized that Nasami had to be the one person who would not be at the Capital to save Kambei. Personally, I prefer the actual canon version of events. (I do still have that original version… I might have to post it as a DwS chapter as a 'what if.')_

_Before I forget, absolute kudos to R Bruce Elliott for sending CHILLS down my spine with Kambei's last words at the end of Episode 20!_

_I finally get to use one of my favorite pieces of music! Ever since I had heard that the Nightwish song "Ghost Love Score" was available as an instrumental piece, I knocked myself out to find it. And I did! Go me! (Additional useless piece of trivia… the whole dream sequence Kambei had at the beginning of Chapter Thirty-Five about Nasami's execution was originally written to this as well…)_

_And don't forget to cast your vote in the poll on my LiveJournal! (The relevant entry with the poll is dated August 28th, 2006.)_

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Thirty-Eight_

"Look, sister, there it is!" Komachi called out to the others as they crested the hill behind her. In the distance, they could see Kogo Valley. With that, she dashed down the hill shouting, "Last one there's a loser!"

The attention of the other three, however, was not on the city of Kougakyo itself. Instead, their eyes were drawn to the enormous airship that was slowly making its way toward the city.

"What's that?" Kikuchiyo said in surprise, and Katsushiro shaded his eyes against the sun to see better, then his eyes widened when he saw the transports that were escorting it.

"Nobuseri!"

"That airship must be the Capital," Kirara realized with a gasp, and Kikuchiyo turned to look down at her.

"How do you know?"

"Remember what the Nobuseri leader said? All women and rice are taken to the Capital! The Nobuseri would have a strong presence there to maintain trade. What other airship city would so many bandits swarm around?"

"I thought the Capital was an actual place," Kikuchiyo protested. "You know, some place… real. Like Kougakyo is."

"It makes sense, though," Katsushiro said, his voice thoughtful. "If the merchants wanted to ensure that they remained 'above' everyone else in this new age of prosperity, the psychological advantage of having an airship as their Capital is a very good one. Not to mention very defendable if necessary. The only group they'd have to worry about is the Nobuseri, and the bandits are already on their side."

"Well, it doesn't matter." Kirara lifted her chin defiantly. "That's where we'll find Sanae and the others."

"Yes," Katsushiro agreed grimly as they set off toward Kougakyo. "And _sensei_ must be there, too."

* * *

Kambei stared down at the floor, where five red lines had been meticulously marked on the floor of his cell. Each time Mizuki had arrived to bring him food, he had seen her initial enthusiasm and determination slowly fade away, until her hope finally gave way to despair. 

Watching her faith dwindling was an almost painful process for the samurai, but Kambei continued to bide his time until the day of his execution finallly arrived. All he could do now was quietly face death as a samurai should, and draw strength from the hope that Nasami might yet still evade Ukyo's machinations.

As though summoned by his thoughts, a contigent of guards arrived, coming to a halt just outside of his cell.

"The execution will take place at six p.m.," the head of the guards announced. "Your body will be on display until midnight."

Kambei lifted his eyes to meet the guard's directly. "I ask that you grant a dying samurai one final request."

The guard's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Go ahead."

"I would like to die as a warrior. Allow me to honor the ritual of cleansing, and to commit _seppuku_."

"Denied," the guard said flatly, and turned to leave.

"Why?" Kambei demanded.

The guard turned back to face him once again. "Your request for ritual cleansing is granted; however, you will not be given the use of any weapon until the time of your execution."

The samurai managed to hang onto his temper, realizing that provoking the guard would get him nowhere, but he was still angry at being denied what was fundamentally his right as a samurai warrior. "By whose order?" he asked, his voice low.

"Who else?" the guard said with a smug and unpleasant smile. "Our new Emperor, of course."

* * *

"Look, they finally caught the guy!" 

"About time!"

Katsushiro and the others watched several of Kougakyo's residents hurry over to one of the enormous message displays that were scattered throughout the city.

"What do you think is going on?" Kirara asked, staring as another group ran past.

"Got me, maybe we should follow them and find out," Kikuchiyo suggested, so the four of them made their way toward the nearest sign, where they could see a message scrolling past.

Komachi, however, was much shorter than the other three, and no matter how high she tried to jump, she couldn't see. "Oh, man, I can't see anything!" she complained.

Kikuchiyo glanced down and scooped her up so that she could sit on his shoulders. The four of them looked up at the sign, but Komachi frowned. "Hey, Kiku, what does that thing say, anyway?"

The big machine samurai was too embarrassed that he couldn't read beyond recognizing a few characters here and there. "It says, uh... little girls shouldn't read what's on this board."

Kirara and Katsushiro, however, were both literate, and as the sign's message continuing scrollilng past, both gave loud gasps of dismay.

"Kambei!"

"It's about... _sensei_!"

"It is?" Kikuchiyo and Komachi looked down at the other two, who were reading the announcement of Kambei's capture and forthcoming execution in absolute horror. Suddenly, however, the four were distracted by someone tapping on Kikuchiyo's back to get his attention. Thinking it was someone who just wanted to move, Kikuchiyo turned to glare, until he saw Masamune standing behind him with a cheerful smirk and a wave.

"Hey, what's up, old man?" Kikuchiyo said enthusiastically, glad to see the mechanic.

"What do you know, you're still in one piece!" Masamume nodded to each of the others as a hello, while Katsushiro and Kirara both bowed slightly.

"Masamune-_dono_, it's been a while," the young man said.

"Yep, that it has. Where's everyone else?"

Kirara's face fell, and she turned away slightly. "Gorobei-_sama_... is dead. The other samurai - Heihachi, Nasami, and Shichiroji... they're still in Kanna Village."

"And of course I don't have to ask what Kambei's up to," the mechanic said dryly, stepping closer to them so he could also see the board. "Besides being accused of the Envoy's murder, he made an attempt on the Emperor's life."

"An attempt?" Kikuchiyo asked in disbelief. "What the hell was he thinking, pulling a stunt like that?"

Komachi looked confused.

"What's going on?"

Katsushiro growled and clenched his fists. "_Sensei_ failed... and now he's in trouble. I knew it... he never should have tried to rescue them on his own."

"Then you'd better come with me," Masamune advised, his eyes on one of the patrols that was making its way past. "At least that way you won't draw as much attention to yourselves."

Reluctantly the group trailed behind Masamune back to his workshop, where Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo both handed over their swords to the weaponsmith for repair.

Masamune held up Katsushiro's sword and studied it. Somewhere along the way, the young man had obviously learned how to care for his sword properly, but with all of the fighting recently, it would require some additional work.

"I see you're finally getting some use out of this baby," he said, glancing over his shoulder at Katsushiro. "Well, that makes sense. You are a samurai, now."

Katsushiro looked away in obvious discomfort. For the young samurai, as much as his spirit craved battle, he still had a difficult time dealling with the emotional aftermath of death.

Masamune then lifted the remnant of Kikuchiyo's sword and glared over at the big machine samurai. "But this thing is useless! I'll have to reforge it for you." Without another word, he tossed the oversized hilt near his forge, and began rummaging through his supplies for the necessary materials.

Kikuchiyo, on the other hand, was going through Masamune's stockpile of swords that he had available for sale. "We'll just borrow these until you're done!" He turned around and tossed one of the katanas to Katsushiro. "Here!"

Katsushiro caught it and placed it in the harness he wore at his hip. It didn't feel quite the same as his usual sword, but it was better than going into battle completely unarmed.

"We're going to the Capital," he told Masamune coldly as he got to his feet.

"And what do you think that'll accomplish?" the mechanic asked dryly.

"Saving everyone, of course!" Kikuchiyo announced, and Katsushiro nodded.

"We can't just leave them to die!"

But Kirara caught the concern in Masamune's expression, and she looked up at Katsushiro. "Maybe we should wait..." she began, but Katsushiro cut her off.

"What?"

"Kambei isn't the type of man who would let himself be executed without putting up a fight," Kirara protested.

"Yes, but how?" Katsushiro asked in derision. "How can he rescue anybody from his jail cell?"

Kirara lowered her head and sighed, for she had been wondering the exact same thing, even as she tried to believe that the older samurai knew what he was doing. "I don't know... but still, I don't think we should interfere with whatever plan he might have."

"So you think we should do nothing?" Katsushiro asked, tightening one hand on his sword.

"For now," Kirara replied, but Katsushiro shook his head.

"For a samurai, the failure to act is a path of eternal shame."

"And how do you justify that statement when three samurai made a deliberate choice to remain behind in Kanna Village?" Masamune asked without turning around. "Would you accuse them of cowardice as well?" Bitterly reminded of Nasami's own attempts at dissuading them from coming to Kougakyo, Katsushiro's mouth tightened and he deliberately ignored Masamune's question.

"And won't it be shaming Kambei if we refuse to trust him now?" Kirara went on.

"When a samurai makes a mistake, he pays for it with his life," Kikuchiyo said forcefully, stepping up beside Katsushiro. "Katsu and I aren't going to let that happen to Kambei. We're going to save him, and show him what samurai can do."

Just then, as if in defiance of Kikuchiyo's words, a rumble began to fill the air, until even the ground was trembling beneath their feet. The five of them headed outside, where they could see the Capital coming in for a landing alongside Kougakyo.

"WHOA, IT'S HUGE!" Komachi shouted over the roar of the airship's engines and the rushing wind as it flew past. Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo looked more than a little daunted at the sight of the Capital up close, but neither one was willing to admit it.

Masamune, however, saw the expression on their faces, and sardonically called over the noise, "So, you still think this is such a good idea?"

* * *

Under the watchful eyes of his captors, Kambei sat quietly in his cell, honoring the ancient ritual of cleansing. As access to full-sized baths was not available to him in a jail cell, three buckets of water - two hot, one cold - had been brought to him instead. It was not unlike what most samurai did while on the road or just after a battle, and after stripping down to the loincloth that all samurai wore beneath their clothes, he bent his head over one of the buckets of hot water, carefully washing his long brown hair, scrubbing forcefully at it and wondering when silver strands had begun appearing among the brown. 

As he washed his hair, though he tried to focus on the task at hand, he could not help thinking of Nasami, and remembering the surreal experience from the other night when he had dreamt that she had somehow come to him, hearing his heart call to her from miles away. For a moment, he glanced down at his hand, remembering the feeling of her tears on his fingertips, but then he clenched his hand into a fist and banished the memory from his thoughts.

Once he was satisified, he sponged himself down using the other bucket of water, imagining all impurities washed away with each stroke of the sponge, repeating the process over and over until at last he felt clean in both spirit and body. Next, he took a clean cloth, soaked it in the cold water, and ran it over his body, raising goosebumps all over himself from the chill of the water. Finally, he picked up a clean dry cloth and towelled himself off, and then slipped on the white robe that had been brought to him, along with a pair of sandals, and flicked away the last drops of water that clung to his hair.

A few minutes later, Mizuki arrived carrying a tray with his last meal. She bravely tried to hold back her tears, but her voice still trembled.

"Your final meal, great samurai." She placed the tray down before him and bowed her head to hide her tears from him.

Kambei saw them, however, and his voice was gentle. "Don't cry, Mizuki."

Her head came up at that. "I can't help it," she said defensively. "If you won't cry for yourself, then I'll cry for you."

"No one's fate is certain, least of all mine," he replied. "I appreciate the thought, but save your tears until after I'm dead."

"But there's nothing that I can do!" she cried. "How can you just sit there so quietly like nothing is happening?"

"The most difficult act in the world is to sit still,'" Kambei replied, thinking of Nasami and her penchant for quoting, and Mizuki blinked.

"What?"

"Nothing... just thinking of what a friend of mine would say right now."

Mizuki sat back, her shoulders slumped in despair. "I just wish you would have let me bring you something other than a riceball for your final meal."

The samurai shook his head, and picked up the riceball. "No... after all, it was rice like this that hired me. I will not eat anything else until that job is complete." With that, he resolutely began to eat.

"But you can't save any of us if you're dead." Mizuki's voice was faint as she watched him eat his rice, still unable to believe that he would just calmly wait for his own execution.

Kambei stopped chewing his rice long enough to meet her eyes. "You think not? I know a woman who might say otherwise. My life may not be able to save yours, or hers for that matter, but my death..."

Mizuki stared wide-eyed at him for a few moments, and then she moved forward on her hands and knees and bowed before him, quietly sobbing. For a moment, Kambei was startled that a girl who barely knew him would weep for him, maybe even mourn his death, and he was so touched that he lifted a hand and gently stroked the girl's hair as he would a child's.

And as he did so, he carefully palmed the long hairpin that held Mizuki's hair back from her face.

And he smiled.

For a long time, Mizuki sat in his cell with him while he ate, and then with tears on her face and a heavy heart, she took his empty tray and left. Once she was gone, the guards returned and stood before his cell.

"It is time."

Kambei nodded, and the leader of the guards opened the cell door. While two of them kept their weapons trained on him, two others bound his hands, and then encircled his neck with mancatcher snares, forcing his head back to avoid the painful spikes on the inside of the snares.

"Oh, dear." Ukyo's voice drifted into the cell block and Kambei's eyes went to the door of the cell. The young Emperor was lounging in the doorway, studying him intently, and then he sadly shook his head. "That look is no good for you."

Kambei did not bother dignifying Ukyo's comment with a response.

"You know, I don't hate you," Ukyo admitted, his voice almost thoughtful. "I thought I would, but it's because of you that I've become what I have, so I wanted to come down here and bid you farewell."

That thought alone was more rankling than almost anything Kambei could have imagined. The fact that Ukyo's ascension to Emperor was something he had anything to do with was enough to turn his stomach.

Ukyo casually sauntered into the cell and approached Kambei. "I'm sorry you won't be afforded a samurai death." He smirked, twisting the blade in a little further. "You must feel shame, being unable to commit _seppuku, _especially since you won't be able to save her once you're dead. What would you warriors call that? A losing battle?"

"_And is this a battle?_"  
"_Indeed. A battle for honor_."  
"_I thought you once said that every battle you'd ever fought in, you have lost. Will this be the one battle you win_?"  
"_Yes. But as in all battles, there will be casualties_."  
"_And as in all battles, there must be sacrifices?_"  
"_Yes_."

The memory of his dream once again ran through his mind, and Kambei shuddered. What he had told Nasami was the truth - he would win this battle, this war for honor, no matter what the cost might be. No price was too high to keep her out of Ukyo's hands.

His eyes focused coldly on Ukyo's. "I suggest you be careful until you actually cut my head off."

"That is adorable, you're still going!" Ukyo said in delight, laughing at the samurai's defiance while Tessai smirked near the door.

The young man stood directly before Kambei and lightly chucked him beneath the chin. "You _will_ be dead soon, Kambei, and then Nasami and Kanna Village are _next_!"

* * *

Thanks to some quick thinking on Katsushiro's part, he, Kirara, and Kikuchiyo had successfully ambushed a group of Shikimoribito who had arrived in Kougakyo bearing energy cells as a gift for the new Emperor. Knocking them out and stealing their uniforms, the three had sent Komachi off with Masamune, and managed to get past the guards and enter the Capital virtually undetected. 

"Good plan, Katsushiro," Kikuchiyo congratulated him. "Guess you learned a few things hanging around with Nasami, huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Katsushiro asked, briefly glancing back over his shoulder from where he was piloting the transport.

"This whole being devious and sneaking in thing, it sounds a lot like what Nasami did in Kanna when she and the farmers raided that Nobuseri ship. Oh, is she going to be jealous when she finds out we actually raided the Capital, ha ha!" Kikuchiyo crowed.

"You can brag all you want once we're actually out of here," Katsushiro replied, carefully steering the transport through a long passageway. "Getting in is easy."

Then they all stopped short as they entered the Capital's main storage facility.

"What is this place?" Kikuchiyo whispered. The big machine samurai was staring in absolute disbelief at the bales of rice that were piled as high and as far as the eye could see. This went far beyond what the Capital might need to sustain itself... it went beyond what might even be used in cases of emergency or for disaster relief.

This was greed, pure and simple, and it made Kikuchiyo's guts wrench like nothing he'd ever seen before.

"Blessed spirits," Kirara whispered, her eyes nearly filling with tears behind the hood she wore. "Oh, this is... I knew it was bad... but this..."

"Welcome to the Capital!" they heard, and they looked down from the transport to see Ayamoro approaching, flanked by two guards. "It's your old friend, Ayamoro! I have been assigned to the post of warehouse manager. It is my job to assess the trade value of your gifts in bales of rice."

"Do you Capital types really eat this much rice?" Kikuchiyo asked, and Ayamoro's eyes narrowed.

"An odd question. You are a Guardian, I would expect you would know the answer to that."

"OH SHUT UP, YOU BASTARD!" Kikuchiyo thundered, leaping down from the transport and killing both of Ayamoro's guards in an instant. The portly Magistrate whimpered and fell back in horror as he stared down the length of Kikuchiyo's sword.

"Kikuchiyo, what are you thinking?" Katsushiro shouted, leaping down after the big machine samurai.

"This is just wrong!" Kikuchiyo bellowed. "What makes all this rice so damned important?"

"Who are you people?" Ayamoro gasped, and then he shrank back as Kikuchiyo leaned closer.

"_I'll_ ask the questions! You've been taking this rice for a long time! Have you even eaten _any_ of it?"

"No, please, of course not!" the Magistrate babbled. "It's all used to purchase energy cells, to trade!"

"What?" Kikuchiyo could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"The Nobuseri take the rice from the farmers... we then trade the rice to the Shikimoribito in exchange for energy cells! That is the arrangement devised by the Capital to ensure its prosperity! It's the only way!"

"That's NOT the only way!" Kikuchiyo shouted in righteous fury. "I've seen it for myself! All it takes is just _one_ single person to change things, that's what Nasami taught me! So _I'm_ changing things right here and now! You can grow your own damned rice, and give the farmers what they deserve!" He had thought he was angry when while in Kanna, he had seen the rice Nasami and the farmers had looted back from the Nobuseri transport, but this was theft and oppression on a scale that was almost revolting. "They're all breaking their backs suffering, while you sit around getting fat!"

In a single instant, Kikuchiyo finally understood what had motivated the samuraiko to leave behind her life at the Capital and pursue the life of a wandering warrior. An arrangement like this would have been anathema to her personality, and it was small wonder she had taken such glee at stealing back the rice from the bandits as she had.

"That poor wasted rice... I feel sorry for it!" Kikuchiyo was nearly in tears, and he leapt down from the walkway to start slashing at the bales of rice, releasing all of his pent-up rage.

"KIKUCHIYO-_DONO_!" Katsushiro yelled, but the machine samurai was beyond hearing him.

"DAMN THE CAPITAL! I SWEAR I'LL KILL THEM ALL!"

"Stop, I beg you, you'll destroy the arrangement!" Ayamoro shrieked, his voice pleading, but Kikuchiyo kept going.

"Screw you! I don't care!"

Katsushiro pulled the hood of his uniform off and drew his own sword. "Kikuchiyo, stop it!" he ordered. "Have you forgotten what we came for? We're here to save Rikichi's wife!"

Kikuchiyo was too angry to care. "You're on your own! I'm done!" He stabbed his sword viciously into another nearby bale of rice and sat down amidst the chaos he had created.

Katsushiro growled and pointed his katana at Ayamoro. "We're looking for the women the Emperor kidnapped, all of them!" He lowered his voice. "You know where they are..."

Ayamoro nodded and swallowed hard.

"Take us there... now!"

"Katsushiro!" Kirara was frightened by what she had seen in Kikuchiyo, and more than a little overwhelmed at exactly what she had gotten herself into, but Katsushiro would not give her the chance to give in to her fears.

"Do me a favor, keep an eye on Kikuchiyo. I'm going after _sensei_."

* * *

Outside the Capital, a large platform had been erected where the populace would be able to watch the execution. Kambei stood quietly, ignoring the staring and pointing, as well as the guards who stood on either side of him. At a signal from their leader, the guards forced Kambei to his knees and bent his head forward so that it rested in a space in the stocks, then his hands were released and placed on either side of his head. Then the top of the stocks was fitting into place, and the padlock snapped shut. Through it all, Kambei remained silent, his eyes moving this way and that, taking in what was going on around him, all of his senses alert. 

People also came flocking from all levels of Kougakyo to see the Emperor and the enormous airship that had accompanied him, and Masamune and Komachi had to fight to get a space near the railing where they could see what was going on.

Their mouths fell open when Ukyo came down the stairs and took a seat on the throne that had been set up for him. "Hello, good to see you!" he called out to the people, who immediately began chattering and talking.

"That's Ukyo!"  
"He's the new Emperor?"  
"That's it, it's the end of the world..."

"This is not good at all," Masamune muttered to Komachi, who was staring wide-eyed at the young man who had been so ardently pursuing her sister.

The Imperial Minister stepped forward holding a megaphone. "Attention all citizens of Kougakyo!" His voice boomed over the noise of the crowd, drawing all eyes to the platform where he stood beside Ukyo. "It is my honor to present your new divine ruler, Emperor Ukyo! Many of you may recognize him as a former resident and the current Magistrate of your city. He offers his greetings to you, and his appreciation of your support. He has made this journey today to witness the execution of Kambei Shimada, the man who assassinated an Imperial Envoy, and threatened the life of the former Amanushi!"

While the Minister went on with his speech, Kambei turned his attention away from him and glanced up at the enormous man who was serving as executioner, a black hood covering his head, a gigantic axe in his hands. He looked the man directly in the eyes and with a soft voice full of challenge, murmured, "Aren't you brave enough to kill without hiding your face?"

The executioner's eyes went wide behind the hood at the insult, but he bit back his words, so all Kambei could see was the tightening of his hands on the haft of his axe.

Kambei smirked, and as best as he could, moved his head and shrugged so that his thick mane of hair fell to one side, baring his neck. "So be it. Here you are."

Then he smiled, and the look in his eyes was a terrible thing to see.

"Don't miss now..."

_To be continued_...


	39. A Hollow Victory

_Note: There are few things so demoralizing as watching the cause you're fighting for just collapse around you while you watch._

_From here on out, watching everything fall apart was almost hypnotic, hence the reason for this chapter's title. The fracturing of the characters' relationships, events spinning out of control, and an almost helplessness in the face of destiny just sucked me in like few other shows ever have._

_The music for "A Hollow Victory" is "The Knife," from one of my favorite movies (and the inspiration for my CHAMPIONS character, Midnight)... THE SHADOW._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Thirty-Nine_

Komachi and Masamune stood at the railing looking down at Kambei, eyes wide with horror, oblivious to all of the noise of the crowd, the chattering and shouting and racket of the city.

Kneeling at the execution block, Kambei was quietly waiting, his long brown hair falling to one side as he bowed his head, the axe hanging poised in the air.

The executioner looked back at Ukyo, but the young man was watching the samurai with a smile, eagerly taking in the scene, almost savoring the bloodshed that was to come. Then Ukyo glanced over at the executioner and nodded.

But in that moment that the executioner looked away, Kambei's right hand moved to reveal the hairpin he had palmed from Mizuki, and he focused all of his attention on it until it began to vibrate.

The axe descended, and Komachi covered her eyes, not wanting to watch any more.

But just as the axe came down, Kambei drove the hairpin straight into the lock, the tumblers clicked into place, and in a flash, the samurai lifted the top of the stocks free while shoving his bound wrists directly in the path of the falling axe, which carved straight through his bonds and freed his wrists.

The crowd barely had time to gasp when Kambei surged to his feet and drove one fist directly into the face of the executioner, knocking him off balance and causing him to drop his axe to the ground. Komachi opened her eyes at the crowd's reaction, hardly daring to believe he had somehow escaped the axe's blade.

Two of the machine guards immediately opened fire, but Kambei dove for cover behind the stocks and snatched up the executioner's axe. With one stroke, he killed one of the guards, then flung the axe like a javelin at the second and buried it in his chest.

"I KNEW IT!" Masamune crowed in delight, laughing aloud while Komachi watched with enormous eyes.

Kambei stepped forward and took the axe in his hands once more, pointing it in direct defiance to two of the Magistrate's patrol who were clearly deciding if they felt like taking on an armed and obviously angry samurai. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, they remained where they were, and Kambei turned his attention to the top of the stairs, where Ukyo sat watching the whole scene in benign amusement.

"Not bad," he called down to the samurai, who growled, tightened his grip on the haft of the axe, and began mounting the stairs. Immediately Tessai moved to intercept him, while the Imperial Minister stepped closer to Ukyo's side and urged him to head to safety.

Then to everyone's amazement, Ukyo began to applaud.

"Oh, Kambei, nicely done!" He advanced forward so that he was standing near the top of the stairs, first taking away the megaphone that the Imperial Minister had been holding earlier, and holding it to his mouth. "I must say, seeing these feats of samurai skill is quite inspiring!"

Kambei looked up at him suspiciously, wondering what trickery the young man had in mind now.

"But hear me now, everyone here! The time has come to lay down our arms and put aside our differences! The war is over, and your days of suffering are at an end." Ukyo lowered his head humbly, as though overcome by emotion. As he went on, however, Kambei could not shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong here... that Ukyo was playing to the crowd, turning public opinion to his side while masking a much darker and more malicious intent.

His fears were confirmed when before all of Kougakyo, Ukyo announced that he was to be given a full pardon, and that all of the women were to be freed.

"Tessai!" Ukyo shouted directly in his attendant's ear, who nearly jumped out of his skin. "See to the release of the women personally! Understood?"

Tessai nodded, his expression clearly showing that he did not approve of Ukyo's actions, but unwilling to say anything in front of the crowd.

Ukyo lowered the megaphone and smirked. "Well, dear Kambei, that's the end of that." And with that, he turned to leave.

"What about Kanna Village?" Kambei shouted after him, and Ukyo looked back, lifting the megaphone once more.

"We're releasing the women. It's all over. Kanna Village is free to live in peace."

Kambei took another couple of steps toward the Emperor. "And what about Nasami?" he asked, his voice low.

Ukyo raised one eyebrow at him, but didn't answer. Instead, he just smiled and began ascending the stairs toward the Capital once more...

... only to come face to face with Katsushiro.

"Oh, it's you!" Ukyo said in surprise. "And how's Kirara doing?"

From behind Katsushiro came one of Ukyo's assassins, and the young man whirled around, his hand going to his sword, keeping one eye on Ukyo and the other on the assassin. Below the platform, both Tessai and Kambei stared up at the young man, obviously wondering what he was going to do.

"Hey now, take it easy. I just made a deal with your gray-haired friend over there," Ukyo said placatingly. "You wouldn't want to ruin it..." With that, he strolled past the young samurai, followed by the Imperial Minister, and finally Tessai. Still reeling from the sight of Ukyo as Emperor, Katsushiro looked down and saw Kambei staring up at him, his expression unreadable.

* * *

Oblivious to the events going on outside, Kikuchiyo and Kirara marched Ayamoro down a long corridor, heading for the inner chambers where the women were kept. 

"As if you could succeed in taking the women," Ayamoro scoffed, trying to hide his fear with bravado. "You'll never make it out of the Capital alive."

"Hey, shut up!" Kikuchiyo growled. "I don't want to hear another word out of you!"

"It's not us you should be worried about," Kirara said, her voice low. "We're not bringing you along with us because we enjoy your company, Ayamoro. You're a human shield."

Ayamoro turned to look at her over his shoulder. "You don't scare me, farm girl."

Kikuchiyo, however, glanced over at Kirara in amusement. "You're tougher than I thought, Kirara."

"You can thank Nasami-_sama _for that," the water priestess replied. "I learned a lot watching her."

Kikuchiyo laughed at that. "I'll say!"

Eventually the small group arrived before an enormous and well-guarded door. One of the guards lifted his spear and addressed them. "Halt! Honored Ayamoro, this is the inner chamber. No one is allowed without the Emperor's permission. I'm sorry, but that does not include you, the Guardian, or the... agh!"

"What?" Kikuchiyo asked, all innocence.

"INTRUDER!" the guard shouted, and the other guards lifted their weapons to surround them.

"What gave us away?" Kikuchiyo asked Kirara, who rolled her eyes behind the hood where the big machine samurai couldn't see her.

"Please don't hurt me, I'm their prisoner!" Ayamoro pleaded, but Kikuchiyo was eagerly spoiling for a fight and pulled his disguise away.

"All right, who wants some?"

"Stop!" came a voice from behind them, and the guards, Kirara, Kikuchiyo, and Ayamoro all turned to see Tessai coming down the corridor, followed by Kambei, Katsushiro, and four other guards.

While Kirara and Kikuchiyo were glad to see the samurai was alive and well, the guards, however, were demanding to know what was going on, and Tessai's mouth twisted as though biting back scathing words. Instead, he told the guards that Ukyo had ordered the release of the peasant women that the previous Emperor had abducted, and the guards moved aside so that he could open the large door of the inner chambers.

While Kikuchiyo and Kirara entered the chamber to look for Sanae, Kambei's voice stopped Katsushiro in his tracks.

"Katsushiro! Tell me why you've come!"

Katsushiro looked back at the older samurai. Of all the reactions he had expected from his _sensei_, an accusation was the last one he had expected. "I came because I wanted to help you," he said with quiet defiance.

Kambei frowned, but said nothing, so Katsushiro proceeded into the inner chambers while Kambei followed.

In the back room, Kikuchiyo and Kirara discovered Sanae, Mizuki, Koharu, and Chiaki, who were considerably startled when the big machine samurai threw open the door with a loud fanfare and the bellowed announcement of, "REJOICE! Kikuchiyo's here! You're free, you can all go home!"

"Really?" Chiaki said hesitantly.

"We.. we can return to our village?" Koharu asked in amazement. Mizuki, however, had eyes only for the samurai standing behind Kikuchiyo.

"Kambei?"

He nodded at her and smiled faintly in reassurance, and a smile lit up the teenager's face. She leaned forward and gently shook Sanae awake. "Sanae, did you hear that?"

Kirara, abruptly realizing who the woman in the bed was, dashed forward to kneel beside her, pulling off the hood of her uniform after nearly scaring the life out of Sanae. For a moment, Sanae didn't recognize Kirara, but then her eyes focused on the priestess' face.

"Is it really you, priestess? But... why?"

"It's time to go home, Sanae," Kirara said warmly. "Rikichi's waiting for you."

Behind Kirara, however, Kambei frowned. He had not had time to warn the farm girl or any of the others about what he had learned of Sanae's feelings for the Emperor, and so everyone's shock was understandable when Sanae refused to leave.

Kikuchiyo turned to Katsushiro. "Do you know what's going on?"

The young samurai shook his head. "No."

Kambei sighed. "Lady Sanae is carrying the late Emperor's child."

"WHAT? A BABY?" Kikuchiyo shouted in astonishment, and Kirara and Katsushiro both looked on consternation. Sanae, however, turned her head away to hide bitter tears.

"Actually..." Mizuki began, and something in her tone caught Kambei's attention.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice low. He feared he knew what the girl was going to say, based on Sanae's pallor and obvious weakness, but hoped that somehow he was wrong.

"The baby..." Mizuki began again, but Sanae's voice cut hers off.

"... is dead. My child is dead, and I killed him."

"That's not true!" Mizuki protested. "You couldn't have done anything! The old Emperor died, and you fell ill from grief! It's not your fault-"

"You needn't explain!" Kambei hissed, closing his eyes as though trying to shut out Mizuki's words. Inside, however, he was berating himself for not having been able to act sooner, to somehow protect Sanae's unborn child as well as herself, even knowing full well there was nothing he could have done.

Sanae was quietly weeping, still refusing to leave, when suddenly something in Kirara snapped. For just a moment, she thought she understood how Nasami had felt that day in the rain when Kirara had blindly refused to understand or accept what was going on around her. It had taken the samuraiko's will to open her eyes and make her act, and Kirara drew on that memory to give her strength now.

"Sanae... you will return home with us! I won't leave you!"

And just as Nasami's commanding tone had shocked her out of her illusions that day, Kirara's voice stunned Sanae out of her grief long enough to stare at the water priestess in surprise. And abruptly, Kirara smiled.

* * *

Up in the Capital's main audience chamber, Ukyo threw himself onto his throne and faced his court. "I cannot _believe_ my predecessor went to all that trouble with the Nobuseri, when the peasants are so easily convinced that the Capital is a true friend of the people!" 

The Imperial Minister and the rest of the court bowed in respect. "The peasantry is on your side," the Minister stated. "Without exception, they have embraced your reign. Thanks to your release of the women, and your praise of Kanna, they hold you in the highest respect."

"Oh, do you really think so?" Ukyo asked, pleased. "Then perhaps we should go visit them all!"

"What?" the Imperial Minister said, confused. "I don't understand..."

"The peasants have never seen the Capital," Ukyo explained as though to a child. "That is why they fear us. Therefore, we shall bring it to them. We shall make peace with the farmers on their turf, and they'll have no reason to be afraid any more." He paused, remembering what he had learned from Kambei while the samurai had been imprisoned.

_"Is the samuraiko Nasami still in Kanna Village?"  
Kambei's eyes went wide for just a moment.  
"I'll take that as a yes."_

"And the final stop on our list... Kanna Village."

"Yes, my lord," the Minister replied, bowing lower.

Ukyo swung one foot back and forth thoughtfully, aware that behind him, one of his assassins was lurking in the shadows. He raised his voice slightly, so that his words would carry clearly.

"If Kanna Village hadn't hired those samurai, we wouldn't be so close to a glorious revolution right now. The time has come to repay the favor."

"As you wish," the Minister answered.

"However, considering that Kanna Village is harboring a known criminal, there's a slim chance we may have a tragic... accident."

Many of the ministers looked up in surprise, and behind Ukyo, the assassin smiled to himself.

"A known criminal, my lord?" the Imperial Minister asked, raising his head to look up at Ukyo.

"Indeed. The farmers of Kanna Village have been trained in warfare, something expressly forbidden by imperial rule. That is why we have the class system that exists today - farmers grow rice, merchants handle trade, samurai make war, and so forth. And only one group could have taught the farmers of Kanna the art of war. Can you guess?"

"Samurai, my lord," the Minister answered, still confused.

"Exactly!" Ukyo announced. "Which was why I sent the ronin to each of the villages - not only to take care of the Nobuseri, but to remind the farmers what their role is. But Kanna Village is different. Their peasants can now fight for themselves, and such a thing must not be allowed. Kanna will be made an example of, and those responsible shall be dealt with. After all, inciting insurrection is a cardinal offense, don't you agree?"

"Yes, my lord," the Minister said softly, bowing once more.

"Any peasant who has experienced war will never be able to return to peace. I lived among them for so long, I understand how they think. Now that they have enjoyed the feel of political revolution, they will continue to crave it. And that makes them a danger to the Capital."

The assassin smiled once more, and faded back into the shadows.

* * *

Outside the Capital, Komachi and Masamune watched the enormous airship take off, but then Komachi's attention was caught by the group of people leaving the Magistrate's palace - Kambei, Kirara, and all the others. 

"SISTER!" she shouted joyfully, dashing through the crowd and barreling past people to meet Kirara halfway, who swung her little sister around.

"I'm so glad you're not dead!" Komachi said gleefully, her words tumbling out in a rush. "I watched everything from here! I saw Kambei do his amazing escape trick and I heard the new Emperor tell that ugly man to set all the women free and I guess we were wrong about Ukyo I mean the new Emperor because he's really great huh don't you think so sis huh?"

"Um, uh-huh," Kirara said hesitantly when Komachi finally stopped talking.

"Do you really believe that garbage?" Katsushiro said in disgust, stepping up beside Kirara, and Komachi looked over at him in confusion.

"Huh? What garbage?"

"Those promises from our new Emperor. I don't care what Ukyo said, I still don't trust him. I can't bring myself to believe it's all over."

"Oh, enough with the negative stuff already!" Kikuchiyo shouted in frustration, coming over to lean into Katsushiro's face. "Everyone's safe! You're a hero! Just wait 'til we get back and tell Nasami and the rest what they missed!"

At the mention of the samuraiko's name, however, Katsushiro saw the same unreadable expression on Kambei's face he had seen there earlier just after the halted execution, and he knew that in his heart, there was at least one person that disagreed with the big machine samurai.

Meanwhile Komachi's attention was caught by Sanae, who was supported by Mizuki, Chiaki, and Koharu, and she dashed over to her. "Sanae, Sanae, it's you, you're alive! Whoa, pretty kimono! Oh, man, did you get rich?"

Sanae stared down at the little bundle of energy, barely recognizing the girl who she had last seen when barely a toddler. "Little... Komachi?"

"The one and only!" Komachi answered proudly. "And this is my sidekick, Kiku!"

Kikuchiyo clenched his fists and growled at her, blowing off steam. "Your sidekick? What are you talking about, you little twerp, I'm a samurai warrior!" But Komachi just laughed up at him, knowing full well that he was just teasing her.

Sanae crouched down beside her, her eyes eagerly taking in the child's laughing expression. "Is Rikichi here with you?"

Suddenly Komachi stopped laughing, and everyone looked uncomfortable. Thankfully, everyone was spared having to answer by a sudden shouting and commotion, and several people ran past, carrying baskets and bowls and anything else they could carry.

"Rice! The Capital's giving away free rice!"

The samurai all turned to look down the street, where they saw three of the Magistrate's guards setting up a table beside several bales of rice, and one was announcing how with Ukyo's ascension, the Emperor was giving away rice as a mark of his generosity. Kambei's eyes met Katsushiro's and Kikuchiyo's, and the three of them frowned, wondering just what the Emperor's true intentions were... for all of them.

* * *

A little while later, the group gathered at Masamune's workshop to catch their breath and make plans. 

"Now then, what's our next move going to be?" Masamune glanced over to where Sanae sat, flanked by Mizuki and the other girls. "We've got a pretty big crowd."

"We'll go to Firefly House," Kambei replied thoughtfully. "We can stay there for the night, and then head for Kanna Village in the morning."

Mizuki looked up from where she stood beside Sanae. "My sister's there?"

"No, we'll meet her on the way. Oh, yes..." Kambei reached into the folds of his robes and drew forth the long hairpin he had palmed from the girl's hair in his jail cell, and out of habit, brushed his fingers against the long plait of hair that he kept with him. "I borrowed this."

With a gasp, Mizuki's hand went to her hair and felt for the hairpin, having never noticed it was gone in all the excitement and the chaos. For a moment, her eyes were sad as she approached Kambei and took it from him. "This... used to belong to my mother."

Kambei bowed slightly at the disrespect he had shown. "Then I humbly apologize. Without it, however, none of us would be alive now."

Abruptly Mizuki laughed. "Well, maybe..." She winked and tilted her head to one side. "But I don't know, great samurai... this does make you a thief!"

"I guess it does," he replied with a smile. For a moment, however, his eyes became shadowed as he remembered a teasing laughter from a time not too long ago, right here in this very workshop.

_"It would be wise for you not to over-exert yourself."  
"Fine, then I'll continue to lounge around on that bed like that spoiled brat Ukyo and you can wait on me hand and foot while I convalesce."  
"Nasami-dono, you should show sensei more respect."  
"What would you rather I say? 'Great samurai, you're beautiful… so beautiful that I'm in love.'"_

Shaken at how unintentionally prophetic the samuraiko's words had turned out to be, he turned away, reluctant for anyone to see the memories in his eyes. And he wondered when and if he would see Nasami again... and what would happen between them.

"Time to change, everyone," Kirara announced from the doorway of Masamune's workshop, where she and Komachi both held bundles of clothes for the other women to change into.

"Yeah, we got you something real comfy, Sanae!"

Sanae looked profoundly uncomfortable, and the girls who had served as her attendants caught the pained look in her eyes and fidgeted themselves. Komachi stared at the group, wondering what she had said wrong, but then wrote it off in her mind as just adults being weird as usual.

* * *

A portly figure made its hesitant way through Kougakyo's streets, darting from one shadow to the next, half covered by a Guardian's uniform. Moving with extreme nervousness, the figure made a dash for a stairway that led to another alleyway when abruptly someone appeared at the top of the stairs, startling the figure and sending it tumbling back down the stairs with a yelp to land flat on its face. 

Right next to three other assailants.

"Hey, Moro..." one said in grim amusement, plucking the faceplate away from the uniform to reveal the terrified face of Ayamoro as he cowered against a wall.

"W-w-wait! What do you want from me?" Ayamoro pleaded as the assassin at the top of the stairs slowly descended, his hooked weapon held casually in one hand.

Ayamoro tried to scramble away, but the four assailants gave him no room to move. "D-did Ukyo order this?"

But just as one of them struck, there was a flash of red, a momentary humming sound, and then a loud clang.

Ayamoro opened his eyes to see Kyuzo kneeling before him, one of his katanas held in both hands where he had deflected away the assassin's attack.

"K-K-Kyuzo!"

In a blur, Kyuzo was on his feet, decimating three assassins and then disarming the fourth, sending his hook flying. With the point of the katana poised just under the assassin's chin, Kyuzo rose to his feet and forced the assassin to stand as well.

"Kyuzo... it's me!" the assassin whispered, trying desperately to figure out why his former comrade was threatening to kill him.

"You will not harm him," Kyuzo said softly, leaning forward slightly so that the katana's edge nearly nicked the assassin's skin. "Nor Shimada Kambei."

"Why not? They deserve it..." the assassin stammered. "And so does that samuraiko."

Kyuzo's eyes narrowed. "What samuraiko?"

"Some woman called Nasami... The one they call Sasuraitsuru... the Emperor sent a group after her as well."

"Why?"

"I don't know!"

Kyuzo's frown deepened. "What are their orders?"

The assassin took a step backward, but Kyuzo took one forward to keep the katana to his throat. "Something about a 'tragic accident'..."

The red-clad samurai's eyes flashed and the assassin backed up again, but Kyuzo advanced once more. "You will _not_ touch her... _no one_ will."

"Killing me won't stop them," the assassin said defiantly.

Kyuzo withdrew the sword and turned away. "Sorry you feel that way."

And in an instant, he had whirled around once more and sliced open the assassin from groin to throat, sending him to the ground in a bloody heap. With a well-practiced motion, he flicked the blood away and sheathed the sword across his back, then sprinted away down the alley.

In his mind, he was rapidly assessing what the assassin had told him. The Capital had only just departed on Ukyo's so-called "goodwill tour." Several other villages lay between Kougakyo and Kanna Village, so it would take him some time to get there. An assassin team, however, could make much better time on foot. The most expedient way across the desert, unfortunately, was through the Village of Respite, which was also most likely Kambei's destination.

All he could do now was hope that he reached the Village of Respite before the assassin teams did...

... or neither Kambei nor Nasami would survive.

_To be continued_...


	40. Matters of the Heart

_Note: I actually enjoyed writing this chapter a great deal... (although admittedly, Kirara does still occasionally set my teeth on edge). What surprised me the most, however, was how the whole exchange between Kambei and Katsushiro could be taken on an entirely different level of meaning. The chance to do it was just too good to pass up. _

_One image in particular haunted me for a long time, though... the scene of Sanae sitting by the window with the fireflies. I don't know why... but I was disappointed that Sanae didn't play a larger role, so this was my chance to make up for that._

_I was ecstatic to find the perfect piece of music for this chapter - "Corynorhinus" from the BATMAN BEGINS score, by two of my favorite composers of all time - Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Forty_

Kambei, Kirara, and the others wearily made their way to the Village of Respite and arrived at the Firefly House, where they were greeted by a smiling Yukino. Glad to see them all alive and well, albeit disappointed that Shichiroji had not come with them, she arranged for food, hot baths, and rooms for them all.

Sanae, however, barely touched her food, and didn't speak at all, preferring instead to remain in the solitude of her room, sitting by the open window and staring out into the night, watching the fireflies dance.

"They're so beautiful," she murmured to herself. "So bright..."

A firefly left its companions and drifted its lazy way past her, and she reached out one hand. The firefly landed there and blinked at her a few times as she gazed at it.

"Have you lost your way, firefly?" she asked the firefly, and the firefly blinked again.

For a moment, Sanae smiled, letting the ache in her heart recede. "I've caught a little falling star," She held it up closer to her face with a childlike wonder. But as its light brightened and faded, then brightened again, she saddened.

"I envy you, little firefly... I've forgotten how to glow." She blinked back sudden tears. "I wonder... if I'll ever remember again."

Then she set it free again, just as Kirara entered and knelt beside her.

"I've made your bed for you," she said softly to the older woman, "so it's ready whenever you want to turn in. You must be exhausted."

Sanae didn't respond, her eyes still on the firefly as it danced in the evening air, and abruptly the tears in her eyes spilled over, and her shoulders shook while she sobbed quietly.

Kirara could only watch helplessly, afraid to even touch her for fear that Sanae would fall apart completely. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, feeling painfully inadequate to the task of helping Sanae, and when Mizuki arrived to keep an eye on her, Kirara gratefully fled.

In a nearby room, she found Yukino pouring tea for herself, Kambei, Katsushiro, and Masamune. Katsushiro sat off to one side, his sword resting on his shoulder, occasionally throwing glances toward Kambei, who pointedly ignored him. In the next room, Komachi was sleeping soundly while Kikuchiyo was stretched out beside her, watching her sleep. Kirara took a seat beside the geisha, who handed her a steaming cup of tea.

"How is she doing?" Yukino asked.

"Mizuki is with her right now, but I'm worried about her. I think we're going to take turns looking in on her tonight to make sure she's okay."

"You won't get much sleep that way. If you'd like, I would be more than happy to take turns with you."

"Oh, we'll be all right. But thank you anyway, Yukino."

The water priestess stared moodily into her tea, abruptly feeling the weight of everything at once.

"How could everything have turned out so badly?" she asked the group at large, wondering if maybe any of them could help her understand. "How can she honestly believe the man who held her hostage is worth mourning over?"

Kambei, however, understood far better than Kirara would ever know. Ever since that moment in the audience chamber where Sanae had knelt at his feet and begged him to spare the Emperor's life, he had been haunted by what he had seen in her eyes. Not only because of the shock that Sanae had fallen in love with the Emperor... but because he finally realized that he had seen that same light in Nasami's eyes the night he had left Kanna.

"I saw the truth in her eyes," he murmured, for a moment uncertain if he referred to Sanae or the samuraiko, but then he shook himself out of his memories. "She truly loved the Emperor."

"You stormed the Capital all by yourself, and that's all you have to say?"

Katsushiro was on his feet, staring at Kambei in absolute disbelief, and as the older samurai looked up at him, he was stunned to realize that Katsushiro had been thinking the same thing he had. This was not just about Sanae, or him leaving Katsushiro behind to rescue the women by himself. This was also an unspoken accusation of Kambei's treatment of Nasami, and Kambei knew it.

He swallowed hard. "It is... I found my weakness there." Kambei looked away, staring into the distance, remembering that moment in his jail cell when he had awoken with the feeling of Nasami's tears on his fingers. "What I found... I could not kill with a sword."

Katsushiro could not believe what he was hearing. The thought that his _sensei_ would deliberately throw away a chance at happiness out of pride nearly took his breath away for the sheer arrogance and callousness of it.

"Then I misjudged you, _sensei_," he said, his voice cold.

"That's enough, you two," Yukino said warningly, and Katsushiro turned away from Kambei in disdain.

Kirara, however, while aware of the undercurrents to Katsushiro's remarks, did not know exactly what was being said beneath the surface, and she turned to Kambei. "I feel so bad for Rikichi. What can we do to help them, Kambei?"

Kambei frowned, but Katsushiro answered first without turning around. "There's nothing we can do for them," he told her, his voice flat and empty.

"How can you be so heartless?" Kirara cried, and Katsushiro whirled around to face her, pointing in the direction of Sanae's room.

"Then _you_ tell me! What can we do?"

"You just don't get it, Katsushiro!" Kirara snapped, her eyes bright with anger, startling Katsushiro with their intensity. "You don't understand how we women suffered while the bandits bled us for rice all those years! We were beasts of burden, giving them our lives just to avoid giving them our bodies!" She closed her eyes, forcing back the memories that threatened to overwhelm her. "Sanae sacrificed herself willingly so the rest of us would be allowed to stay in the village with our families! She gave her life for us!"

Abruptly, however, she opened her eyes again as a truth hit her with the force of a blow. "But I didn't... I didn't do anything to stop her. If I'd had any kind of courage at all, then she and Rikichi would never have been apart."

"That's enough." Kambei cut her off before she could say anything else. "It's all in the past."

"Well, listen to you, great samurai!" came Kikuchiyo's derisive laughter as he entered. "Some female tricks you into putting your head on a chopping block and you go all mushy on us! Oh, she did a number on you, didn't she?"

"Why don't you put a lid on that can of yours, Kiku?" Masamune snapped. "That woman needs some time to put her life back together, and in the meantime, she needs our support! Rikichi's the one who can help her now, and your cracks aren't needed!"

"Why don't I crack your face? That might be needed!" Kikuchiyo shot back, but Masamune just smirked and leaned over the table at him.

"Then who's going to repair you?"

Kikuchiyo started to reply, then realized that Masamune was right, and subsided.

"Anyhow, you rescued the women like you said, and I guess that's all that matters," Masamume went on. "You completed your mission... isn't that right, Kambei?"

All at once, Kambei took his sword in his hand and rose to his feet. He stood completely still, his eyes closed for a moment, and then in a single swift move, he drew it, reversed the blade, and dealt a swift blow to Kikuchiyo's head and Katsushiro's shoulder while the others looked on in disbelief.

"YOU FOOLS!" he shouted.

"Hey, that hurt!" Kikuchiyo bellowed, getting to his feet. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

"Simple," Katsushiro ground out through gritted teeth. "_Sensei_'s upset with us for coming to the Capital to save him."

"Wha-? That's ridiculous!" the big machine samurai protested, turning to Kambei. "You never told us not to come!" He growled angrily, clenching his fists. "Oh, you think you're so much better than us, Mr. 'I've got to do everything myself!'"

Katsushiro also got to his feet, his frustration and resentment finally spilling over. "Well, I for one am not going to take any more abuse from someone who lost to the Capital!"

The anger in Kambei's eyes flared at that, but Kikuchiyo and Katsushiro both ignored it. "Are you kidding?" Kikuchiyo laughed. "Losing battles is his specialty!"

Katsushiro took a step forward to confront Kambei directly. "If we had been there with you right from the start, this whole mess could have been avoided! Why did you think you had to do this alone? Did you think that none of us would want to help rescue Sanae, or absolve Nasami? Did you honestly believe that you were the only one who could help them? You didn't even give Nasami the chance to defend her own honor!"

"This was not about Nasami's honor, this was about her _life_," Kambei hissed, tightening his fingers around the pommel of his katana. "If she had gone to the Capital, she would have been killed!"

"She doesn't need you to protect her!" Katsushiro said derisively. "You didn't stop her from fighting to save Kanna, so why bother trying to shelter her now? And for that matter, when _you_ were captured, why didn't you accept your death with honor? No true samurai could ever live with such disgrace!"

"Do _not_ value death so highly," Kambei warned, his voice low, but the young samurai ignored him.

"A samurai's honor is worth dying for!" Katsushiro shouted.

"What good would my corpse have done those women?" Kambei shot back.

"I would gladly have given my life trying to save theirs!"

"With your skills, you would have died in vain!" The older samurai's voice was harsh, but Katsushiro drew himself up to his full height and stared Kambei in the eyes.

"The thought of dying _doesn't_ scare me," he said coldly.

"Hey, Katsu, don't go talking like that," Kikuchiyo said uncomfortably, and Katsushiro stepped back away from Kambei.

"Now I understand why you're always on the losing side of a battle. You have no faith in your own allies, _sensei_." Then he lowered his voice so only Kambei could hear him. "And Nasami deserves better than _you_."

CRACK!

Everyone stared in shock as Katsushiro reeled backward, his cheek livid from the force of Kirara's slap. And as he turned back to Kirara, his eyes went wide as he saw the crystal on her wrist was glowing brightly. In an instant, all of his anger drained away, leaving behind a pain and betrayal so strong that he almost choked on it.

_"I won't go chasing after him like some lovestruck child."  
"You mean like Lady Kirara... That's what you were going to say, isn't it, Nasami-dono?"  
"Yes... I'm sorry, Katsushiro."_

Even then, he hadn't wanted to believe it, but the truth was there in the dowsing crystal's glow.

Unable to bear the sight of Kirara, he turned and dashed out of the room.

Shoving past startled patrons, ignoring the shocked stares and whispers, the young samurai fled down the steps of the Firefly House, only dimly aware that Kirara was following him.

"KATSUSHIRO, COME BACK!" she cried desperately, sprinting after him, horrified at what she had done. The need to defend Kambei had just come up out of nowhere, and before she had been able to stop herself, she had struck Katsushiro full across the face. But more than anything, she would have given the world to spare herself the look of betrayal she had seen in the young man's eyes.

Katsushiro ignored her, and praying for strength, Kirara increased her stride and caught him by the arm.

"Don't run away from me!" she pleaded, and as her fingers closed around his arm, her crystal flared brightly, even brighter than it had when she had slapped him.

While she succeeded in stopping him, he turned on her with such anger and hurt on his face that she instinctively let go and backed away. As soon as she released him, he turned on his heel and stalked off, Kirara trailing disconsolately behind him.

* * *

"Well, that could have gone more smoothly," Masamune said bluntly as he poured a cup of sake. He offered it to Kambei, who had seated himself once more, but the samurai shook his head. Yukino had gone to fetch food, and then to check on Sanae, leaving Kambei, Masamune, and Kikuchiyo alone in the room. 

The mechanic leveled his gaze at Kambei. "You're as much at fault as he is," he pronounced, and downed the sake in a gulp, setting the cup down on the table. "You may be the experienced samurai here, but you have to remember, he's just an amateur." Pouring himself another cup, he glanced over at Kikuchiyo who was busily scarfing down food. "And speaking of amateurs, this one wasn't much help, was he?"

Kikuchiyo belched, then glared at Masamune. "Oh cram it, you old goat!"

"You know, if anyone was going to self-destruct, I thought for sure you'd be the first, Kiku!"

"Oh, yeah?" Kikuchiyo said challengingly, but then he frowned. "To tell you the truth, so did I. I guess the kid showed us both, huh?"

"Katsushiro draws a great deal of strength from his passions." Kambei's voice was quiet. "But he has not learned to control it, or them." He sighed to himself. "I did not realize that he cares for Nasami as much as he does."

"I thought he was in love with Kirara," Kikuchiyo said in confusion.

"Oh, he is. But he respects Nasami a great deal, for she has always treated him as both a man and a samurai."

Kikuchiyo nodded at that, knowing it was not only Katsushiro that Nasami had treated as such, nor was Katsushiro the only samurai who valued the samuraiko's friendship.

"So what do we do about Katsushiro?" Masamune asked Kambei softly.

"That is entirely up to Katsushiro himself," Kambei replied stoically, and Kikuchiyo looked at him.

"Damn! That's harsh!"

"Life's harsh," Kambei replied, his eyes on the sake in front of Masamune, remembering a starlit night behind the mechanic's workshop, the taste of sake... and dark blue eyes, silvered by moonlight.

He lifted his gaze to meet the mechanic's. "Pour me a cup."

* * *

Katsushiro walked blindly through the Village of Respite's streets, oblivious to the lights and the cheer, and trying resolutely to ignore the girl walking behind him. Kirara, however, was not willing to give up, and clutching her crystal in one hand, tried to talk to him. 

"Just apologize to Kambei..." she pleaded.

"I can't do that," Katsushiro replied, not breaking his stride, and Kirara was so startled that she stopped walking, and then she had to hurry to catch up to him.

"Katsushiro, what's wrong with you?"

Not wanting to talk to her, Katsushiro turned down an alleyway, but still Kirara followed him, and he finally stopped.

"The scent of war is everywhere now, and I've fulfilled my duty to Kanna Village," he said at last, and Kirara gasped.

"So you're just going to leave us to fight another battle somewhere else?" She'd had no idea that the idea of Katsushiro leaving would be so painful.

"That's what samurai do," he told her, but then he turned back to face her, took her wrist in his hand, and backed her up against the wall of the alley. Kirara gasped again, too startled to move away, and stunned at what she saw in the young man's eyes.

"You could come with me, Kirara," he whispered, part invitation and part plea, his eyes never wavering from hers.

Half-covered by Katsushiro's hand, her crystal flared once, but neither of them paid it any attention, having eyes only for each other.

Giving in at least to the urges of his heart, Katsushiro closed his eyes and brought his mouth down on hers, putting all the words he could never hope to say into a kiss laced with heartbreak and need and longing. But as inexperienced as he was, it was several moments before he realized that the water priestess was not responding, and he opened his eyes.

To see Kirara's wide eyes staring at him in shock.

And he felt his heart shatter inside of him.

He pushed himself away from her and turned away, half-staggering down the alley before coming to a halt.

"I'll be fine on my own," he hissed, and vanished into the crowd before he said or did anything that he might regret.

Behind him in the alleyway, Kirara stared after him, her eyes filled with tears, one hand on her lips, and her heart heavy with the realization that she might have just lost the most precious thing she had ever known.

* * *

Much later, Kambei was returning to his room from the baths, lost in his own thoughts and remembering what Katsushiro had said to him earlier. He leaned on the railing and looked up at the stars, thinking of Nasami. 

"Perhaps Katsushiro was right," he murmured to himself. "What right do I have to protect her? She is indeed a samurai... am I denying her what is her right because she is a woman? Or have I truly let my own feelings for her cloud my judgment?"

Then he saw Kirara approaching the Firefly House, looking lost and confused. On the stairs below him, however, he saw Yukino approach the girl and invite her to sit. At first Kirara hesitated, but then she took a seat beside the geisha, who drew her into her arms much as a mother would hold a child.

"You thought you could save him," he heard her tell Kirara. "We always think we can save them from themselves."

"But it's all my fault," Kirara whispered, and Yukino released her and leaned back to look at her more closely.

"Don't you think you're being too hard on yourself?"

Kirara glanced at her in surprise. "Too hard on myself? But I-"

"He picked up the sword because he wanted to, long before he met you," Yukino said gently, and unseen above them both on the landing, Kambei flinched. While the geisha was talking about Katsushiro, Kambei had the eerie sensation that she was addressing him as well.

_"Yes, I am Sasuraitsuru, the Wandering Crane, bearer of_ Mamorimasu_. Yes, peasants and courtiers alike sing songs about me. Yes, I have fought and bled and damned near DIED for my lord and my emperor!" _The samuraiko's defiant shout echoed in his ears, and he groaned silently. _"But I am still NASAMI!"_

Yukino went on. "And think about all the women you freed, what you did for your village. Sure, things aren't perfect yet, but you accomplished what you set out to do. Right?"

"Yes," Kirara agreed faintly.

"Then you should have no reason to feel any shame. I said you should put yourself first sometimes."

"But-"

"No buts!" Yukino said warmly, taking Kirara's hands in hers. "You're always so stubborn!" Then she lowered her voice. "Besides, that boy isn't the one you're drawn to..."

Kirara gasped, but her crystal flared brightly.

"Well, at least your crystal can be honest," Yukino said in satisfaction.

But above them, Kambei's hand tightened on the railing, the irony of it nearly making him laugh. Katsushiro was in love with Kirara, Kirara with himself, himself with Nasami... the only difference was that he knew Nasami returned his feelings. Or rather... at one time, had. He had no idea what would happen when he saw the samuraiko again...

All he could do was hope.

As though echoing his thoughts, Yukino went on, and for a moment, Kambei thought she was agreeing with him. "You're still young, with your whole life ahead of you!" But then her next words dashed those hopes. "And when a woman is in love, she must declare it! Now, come with me. There's a kimono I want you to try on!"

"But, I really shouldn't-" Kirara protested as Yukino drew her to her feet.

"Hush, I think it'll look great on you! And this time, I'll do your makeup-" But as the geisha turned, she saw Kambei standing at the top of the stairs, and Kirara blushed a bright red. "We have an audience... have you been there long?" Yukino asked casually.

Kambei's sad smile was hidden by the shadows. "No..."

* * *

Far away in Kanna Village, Nasami was kneeling beside the window in Rikichi's house, looking up at the stars, momentarily distracted by the irresistible feeling that someone had walked over her grave. She sat still for a moment, listening, but the feeling didn't return, and she sighed. 

"You're thinking of him again." Nasami glanced over her shoulder and saw Shino standing in the doorway, holding a tray of food and watching her, and the farm girl flushed slightly. "Of that samurai. Kambei-_sama_."

"Shino..." Shichiroji said, a faint warning in his voice, but the samuraiko gave Shino a faint and rueful smile.

"Is it so obvious?"

Shino shook her head. "Not really, no. It's just that... well, you had the same look in your eyes that Katsushiro-_sama_ has whenever he looks at Kirara."

"Yes," Nasami said softly, her eyes wistful. "I suppose that I do."

"You can't think that he doesn't care about you as well, _sensei_," Shino protested, setting the tray down on the platform and kneeling beside Nasami, placing her hand on the older woman's shoulder without thinking.

Then Nasami stunned the peasant girl by lightly patting her hand, and then getting to her feet. "Thank you, Shino. But it doesn't really matter in the end."

"Where are you going?" Heihachi asked her as she began to carefully gather her few belongings.

With care, she placed her katana and wakizashi in her obi, then turned to look at him. "I have to leave."

"You're going after Kambei-_sama_, aren't you?" Shichiroji said softly.

She hesitated, and then nodded. "I'm sorry, Shichiroji. I tried so hard just to let him go, the way he asked me to, but..."

"Then why leave now?"

Nasami said nothing, but both men had seen how hard she had been driving herself ever since Kambei had left. Day and night, she had been forcing herself to keep busy, and as soon as the harvest had been completed, the samuraiko had once again begun training the farmers in the art of warfare. Although she never said why, many of the peasants had picked up on her concern that the battle was not yet over, and so once the harvest was finished, more often than not, Nasami and most of the able-bodied men and women were training all day and half the night.

"I can't explain it," Nasami replied at last. "But I can't just stay here and do nothing any more."

"You haven't been 'doing nothing,'" Shichiroji reminded her. "Because of you, the peasants are once again at a fighting readiness, and Kanna is even more defensible than before. It's not like you've been wasting time since Kambei-_sama_ left."

"I know," she said softly.

"So why leave?" Shichiroji asked her.

"Because I can't help you in rebuilding, I don't have skills for that sort of thing. And because if this whole thing falls apart the way that I think it will, we are all going to find ourselves going through six kinds of hell," the samuraiko said quietly, turning to Shichiroji and smiling wanly at him. "Besides, you and Heihachi have just about finished the reconstruction, so I'm..."

She waved her hands helplessly, then sighed.

"Useless."

"It's because of that dream you had the other night, isn't it?" Heihachi asked her quietly. "That nightmare you had..."

Nasami flinched, her face slowly going pale.

Shichiroji and Heihachi looked at one another, and then the blond samurai sighed. "I understand. We'll be done here by tomorrow at the latest anyway, so leaving one day ahead of us shouldn't be a problem. You go on ahead, and we'll catch up with you and the rest at the Firefly House."

She smiled gratefully, and took his hand in hers, gently squeezing it, then she picked up her pack and walked outside, only to find the Elder standing there.

"We farmers are not always good at showing our gratitude, but we are grateful for all that you have done, great samurai," he told her somberly. "But I must confess that I am worried that the bandits will return."

Nasami straightened and rested her hand on her katana. "If that should happen, I will return to Kanna Village. You have my word, Elder... I _will_ come back."

The Elder bowed to her. "Thank you, Nasami-_sama_. May Lady Sun's light shine on you during your travels."

"And on us all," Nasami whispered. "And on us all."

With that, she set out toward the Village of Respite, her eyes on the stars and her thoughts already far away.

_To be continued_...


	41. The Cost of Pride

_Note: I had the title of this chapter almost as soon as I saw the two episodes this takes place between. Samurai pride is, after all, a formidable thing. The ironic thing is, who is it referring to?_

_For the last several chapters, Nasami's story has been relegated to the background, but now it's time to shift the story's focus once again - a task made much easier by the fact that the samurai are congregating once more (with the exception of Katsushiro - more on him later)! And of course, now that Nasami's on the road again... once again, two stories intersect... (You're welcome, Motokonobaka!)_

_The music for "The Cost of Pride" is "Ship of Fools," from TSUBASA RESERVOIR CHRONICLES (thanks shadow-wind auror for the suggestion)!_

**

* * *

**

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Forty-One_

Fuming to himself, Katsushiro stalked through the Village of Respite, wanting nothing more than to get away from everybody around him - the samurai, the peasants, the residents of the Village of Respite, and most of all, Kirara. But even in the midst of his anger and hurt, a small part of his mind was trying to get his attention.

"I don't need her to protect me," he muttered to himself as he walked. "And I can fight battles on my own, without the rest."

Then abruptly he stopped walking.

He was being followed.

Resting his hand on his katana, Katsushiro turned to look back over his shoulder, and saw Kyuzo standing there, with the chubby figure of Ayamoro cowering behind him.

Katsushiro's eyes went wide. "Kyuzo-_dono_!"

"Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but here," the young samurai said defiantly, and turned to start walking away again.

"Where is Kambei?"

"Find him yourself," Katsushiro hissed, not even wanting to think about the man that until recently he had called _sensei_.

"Then where is Nasami?"

The red-clad assassin's words stopped Katsushiro once more, and he looked back at Kyuzo. "What...? She's in Kanna Village... or at least she was, the last time I saw her. Why?" As he looked closer at the other samurai, he saw that Kyuzo was tense, as though expecting trouble at any moment, and not just from some unseen enemy. Setting his anger aside for a few moments, he forced himself to be calm and talk to the other samurai civilly. "You know something... what is it?"

Kyuzo's eyes never stopped moving, constantly assessing the area around him. "Ukyo has sent assassin teams. One is after Kambei... the other, after Nasami."

"What? That _bastard_!" Katsushiro clenched his fists. "I just _knew_ that crap he was spouting in Kougakyo was a pack of lies! Well, I won't let him get away with that. I'll find Nasami myself and warn her."

"What about your... _sensei_?"

"I don't give a damn about him!" The young samurai's anger returned in a hot rush, and he spat out the words. "Like I said, if you want to help him, find him yourself!"

Kyuzo's eyes narrowed, taking in the way that Katsushiro was favoring his left shoulder, and the red welt on his cheek, and he briefly wondered exactly what had happened between Katsushiro and Kambei to cause such a rift.

"Fine. I'll tell Kambei where you're going."

"No!" Katsushiro took a step backward, glaring at Kyuzo. "You don't need to tell him anything. I'll find Nasami, I'll warn her about the assassin team. Leave Kambei out of it. I don't need his help. I don't need _anyone's_ help!"

With that, he turned on his heel and vanished into the crowd, leaving Kyuzo staring after him thoughtfully. Then the red-clad samurai shrugged, and set off in the direction of the Firefly House. But he only got a few steps when he suddenly lifted his head, as though scenting something on the wind.

Then he began to run.

* * *

The samuraiko lifted one hand to shade her eyes as she peered up at the setting sun, judging its position in the sky and how far she still had to travel before reaching the Village of Respite. So far, she had made good time, but in the interest of self-protection, she travelled a different route than the one she had used to travel to Kanna in the first place. On this trip, she passed through a small village not unlike Kanna itself. Pausing only long enough to refill her waterskin and rest her aching knees, Nasami set out once more. 

"It can't be... it _is_!"

Nasami heard a young woman's voice behind her and turned to look. Leaning on a boken was the same teenager she had met several weeks earlier on her journey to Kanna Village.

"I remember you," she said quietly. "Ran, isn't it?"

"Yes, Nasami-_sama_!" the girl said excitedly, hurrying over to her and bowing, her basket hat almost falling off as she did so. "Wow, I didn't think I'd ever meet you again! And you remembered me! This is wonderful!"

"How could I forget someone who tried to attack me?" The samuraiko smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "But I am glad to see you're well."

"Oh, yeah, I'm great! And I'm so glad I got to see you again!" Ran bowed again, this time her face serious. "Thanks to you, you reminded me what it means to be a samurai, and not just some training-hall smasher. It was a hard lesson, but I did want to say thank you, great samurai."

"You're welcome," Nasami said gently, lightly touching the younger woman's shoulder. "As long as you continue to honor that ideal, I could ask for no greater thanks."

"Anyway, I gather you're on your way to meet the Emperor and ask him to assign you to a village, huh?"

Nasami frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, didn't you hear? I guess not, if you've been in Kanna Village the whole time," Ran replied, idly twisting her long black hair around her fingers. "Do you know Ukyo? The Magistrate of Kougakyo? Well, he's Emperor now. And he's called for all of the samurai to take up their swords again and defend the villages."

During this whole recitation, Nasami's eyes had narrowed. "Let me get this straight. First Ukyo becomes Magistrate of Kougakyo, and now he's the Emperor? What happened to the former Amanushi? And to Ayamoro, the Magistrate?"

Ran shook her head, her black foxtail swaying from side to side. "Well, as far as the whole thing with Ayamoro goes, rumor had it he got his title taken away for never finding out who murdered that Envoy in Kougakyo. As for the Amanushi, I don't know... but Ukyo is the Emperor now. So he's asked all samurai to remember their duty to protect and assigning each of them to a village to serve as its protector."

"Really?" Nasami said thoughtfully, and Ran nodded.

"Yeah, but I don't believe him. I mean, I know that all samurai are supposed to serve the Emperor," she went on hurriedly, "but after all this time, why would the Emperor care? I don't buy it. I'd rather be ronin than serve under someone like Ukyo."

"No."

The samuraiko's voice was quiet but firm, and Ran blinked in surprise.

"No? B-but why?"

"Do you know what the word 'samurai' means, Ran? It means 'servant...' One who serves." Slowly Nasami's mouth curved into a smile. "So serve the empire, not the Emperor."

Ran's dark eyes were wide. "You're serious?"

"Of course," Nasami replied. Then she smirked. "Even if you serve for the wrong reasons."

"Yeah," Ran breathed. "You're right. After all, I _am_ a samurai." Then her face fell. "But how will I know where to go?"

Nasami looked skyward once more, and smiled as the sunlight warmed her face. "You will find yourself where you need to be."

Ran bowed once more. "Thank you, Nasami-_sama_. I won't forget, and I'll do as you suggest." Then she grinned. "Unless you have any other sage advice for me?"

The samuraiko looked toward the horizon, her eyes distant.

"'The Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything. Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go. She has but does not possess, acts but does not expect. When her work is done she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever.'"

Ran frowned slightly. "I don't understand..."

Nasami just smiled and bowed, and began walking away once more, leaving the teenager standing in the middle of the road, watching her go.

"You will, Ran..." Her voice drifted back, and lingered in Ran's mind long after the samuraiko was gone. "You will... someday..."

* * *

Five dark shapes surged up out of the canal that ran past the Firefly House, landing hard and moving quickly to form a line only a stone's throw away from the building. The inn's garish lights reflected on their metal bodies, and on the enormous swords that formed their left hands. 

"Light 'em up!" came a harsh, mechanical voice, and the five Shionameki raised their right arms, where flamethrowers replaced their right hands, and five hissing gouts of flame blazed into existence as they advanced forward with the intention of burning the Firefly House to the ground, and killing anyone who tried to escape.

But then a gleam came brighter than even the firestarters' flames, and with only a faint humming as warning, the Shionameki's right hands were sliced viciously away from their arms as Kyuzo landed in their midst, swords drawn and his eyes alight.

The Shionameki howled in pain and cursed, and Kyuzo took up a defensive stance, katanas at the ready.

"Kyuzo..." the leader spat. "That was a big mistake..." The red-clad assassin turned to him, shifting his grip on his swords, almost daring them to come closer.

Four of the Shionameki took up the challenge and charged him, while the leader, recognizing the assassin, belatedly shouted, "Wait, hold it!"

As the four assassins closed in, Kyuzo whirled gracefully, his swords shimmering in the light of the Firefly House, and with a clatter, four bodies fell to the ground.

"KYUZO!" the leader shouted in fury, but got no farther than that when Kyuzo's blade cleanly sliced him in half, sending his body to the ground besides those of his companions.

A sudden bellowing behind him drew Kyuzo's attention, and he turned to see Kambei standing nearby, and Kikuchiyo charging toward him with sword drawn.

"Have no fear! Kikuchiyo has arrived... oh..." His voice trailed off when he realized that the battle was already over.

"Looks like we missed all the fun," Kambei said dryly.

As Kikuchiyo got closer, he recognized Kyuzo standing in the middle of the wreckage. "Hey, it's you! I was wondering where you had wandered off to!"

"Thank you for your help," Kambei said to Kyuzo, who was cleaning off his swords.

"These men were sent here to kill you, so I killed them instead."

"Awww, thanks a lot, you big softie!" Kikuchiyo teased as he approached. "You know, you act all dark and stuff, but deep down, you really care!"

Kambei grinned, but Kyuzo just glared over his shoulder at the big machine samurai.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm just waiting for what was promised me."

"Hey, why do you always gotta be like that?" Kikuchiyo said in frustration, but Kyuzo's eyes went to Kambei.

"Watch yourselves. These were Ukyo's men. He won't stop sending them until you're dead." For a moment, he paused as though about to continue speaking, but then turned away once again and resheathed his swords, and Kambei wondered what the fair-haired samurai had been about to say. But his attention was drawn away when Kikuchiyo noticed Ayamoro hiding behind a slender ornamental tree.

"Hey, piggie!" Kikuchiyo shouted derisively in Ayamoro's direction. "If you wanted to hide from us, you should have picked a bigger tree!"

Ayamoro shrank away from Kikuchiyo, remembering their last encounter in the Capital's warehouse.

* * *

Kambei, Kikuchiyo, Ayamoro, and Kyuzo returned to the Firefly House, where Kyuzo immediately took up his usual post near the door of the room where the others gathered to hear Ayamoro's tale. Honoring the usual rules of respect toward a guest, Yukino brought Ayamoro a sumptuous tray of food, which he eagerly tucked into with great decorum. 

Kikuchiyo watched all this with disgust, and finally remarked, "Come on, I know cows that can chew cud faster than you eat! By the time you finish your breakfast, it'll be time for lunch! Look, maybe if you stopped now, you wouldn't be so fat! Try to take a cue from the farmers!"

Ayamoro gently patted his lips with a clean cloth and glared disdainfully at the big machine samurai. "Fool, a meal has been given to me. The dignified course of action is to savor every bite, and to continue eating once my hunger has been sated."

That was the wrong thing to say, for Kikuchiyo then leaned forward and snatched the tray of food out from in front of Ayamoro. "That's enough, pig... I'm kicking your trough!"

"Kikuchiyo, stop it!" Kambei ordered, and Kikuchiyo looked at him in resentful confusion.

"But he... argh!"

The white-clad samurai ignored him and moved to kneel in front of Ayamoro where he could look the Magistrate in the eyes. "Do you have any idea what Ukyo's planning?"

Ayamoro returned Kambei's gaze calmly, confident that he was dealing with a samurai who at least understood the rules of courtesy and civility. "The elaborate performance in front of the commoners after your halted execution, freeing those women from the Emperor's harem... it's all part of Ukyo's plan to manipulate us and take control of the world."

"Take control?" Kambei asked warily, and Ayamoro nodded.

"Of course. He will influence all facets of trade, legitimate markets and black markets alike. And worse, his lies will be indistinguishable from the truth. Ukyo will appear to work for the people, but in reality, he will crush all who stand against him. Whatever he told you is a lie!"

"Kambei and I know all about lying!" Kikuchiyo remarked from where he sat, glaring at the other samurai. "Sometimes you gotta make stuff up to win in the end! It's how you learn to be strong!"

Kambei caught the not-so-subtle barb in Kikuchiyo's statement, not only about how they had first met, but how Kambei was lying to himself about more than a few things in order to act as necessary.

Ayamoro's words echoed his thoughts. "'If it advances your cause, then lying is all right.' That was the first lesson I ever taught Ukyo."

"You must be so proud of your boy, following in your footsteps like that," Masamune said mockingly, sarcasm practically dripping from each word. "In public, he's a gracious Emperor who doles out rice..."

"Yeah, until he gets the bandits to stomp on the people and take the rice back!" Kikuchiyo finished in scorn.

"We still have work to do," Kyuzo said quietly from the doorway, not turning around, and Kambei sighed to himself.

"So it seems. You'll have to wait longer. I apologize." And he meant it. Kyuzo caught the sincerity in his words and turned to look at him. Once again, he seemed ready to speak, but then looked away once more and remained silent.

* * *

As Nasami wearily rounded the last bend of the mountain path, she could see the lights of the Village of Respite glimmering below her, nestled as it was in the small valley, and she smiled. Pausing for a moment to stretch out aching muscles, she set out down the winding road that led to the city gates, remembering what had happened the last time she had passed this way... 

... her struggle with Kyuzo.

As she walked, she wondered where the fair-haired assassin was, and if he was all right. Since she had told him how to find the Capital, she constantly found herself both hoping and dreading that he had found Kambei - hoping that he would so that he would protect the other samurai, dreading that he had... and that he had killed him.

Just as night was falling, she crossed the bridge and entered the Village of Respite, noting with amusement that one of the great doors still bore a gauged-out space where one of Kyuzo's swords had been plunged into the wood.

In the distance, she could just make out the bright lights of the Firefly House, and she set off toward it, only to be brought up short by someone yelling her name.

"Nasami-_dono_!"

The samuraiko whirled around in surprise, her hand instinctively going for her katana, when she saw someone pushing and shoving his way through the crowd of people directly toward her.

"Katsushiro!" she called back with a smile, recognizing the younger samurai, until she saw the look of concern and urgency on his face, and then her own smile faded. "What's wrong?"

Gasping, he reached her side. It was only by chance that he had seen her white hair, barely visible beneath the hood of her cloak. "You have to... get out of here... Kyuzo-_dono_... warned me... assassin team... on its way here... for you..."

"What?" Nasami said in alarm. "What are you talking about?"

"He's talking about us," came a voice from the shadows, and both samurai whirled around to see several figures emerge from the darkness. In a flash, Nasami's katana was in her hand, Katsushiro was holding his as well, and the two stood back to back, keeping a cautious eye on the assassins that encircled them.

"What do you want with me?" she said in a low voice, slowly moving into a low stance, her katana at the ready.

None of them answered her, and the samuraiko's eyes narrowed angrily.

"Cowards," she spat. "Common thugs and assassins... you're barely worth dirtying my blade with."

"Shut your mouth, you little slut," one of them hissed back at her, lifting a chain whip in his hand. Snaking it along the ground, he whisked it back and then forward with an expert touch, but Nasami was faster, and with a deft twist of her sword, she snagged the chain whip around the blade and yanked it out of his hand, sending it flying.

"I think I'm insulted," she laughed mockingly, "if you're the best that can be sent after me."

With angry roars, the rest of them charged her and Katsushiro. Two of them lunged at Nasami with mancatcher spears, while another advanced with a chain whip, three others attacked with swords. Katsushiro growled and slashed at the legs of one of her assailants, then skewered him on his katana on the way down before yanking the blade free and attacking another. While Katsushiro's back was turned, another assassin came at him with a pair of sais, but Nasami got there first, neatly sliding her katana between the prongs and ripping them out of his hands, kicking them away, and taking his head off in one clean stroke.

Moving in tandem, the two samurai weaved effortlessly among their attackers, cutting them down easily.

Too easily, Nasami realized uncomfortably, watching Katsushiro slice through yet another one of their assailants. In fact, she could have probably taken all of them out on her own...

"HAH!" Katsushiro shouted as his blade carved through the last one, sending the assassin falling heavily to the ground. "And they call _that_ an assassination team! I can't believe that Kyuzo-_dono_ was worried."

Nasami, however, was not convinced. "I'm not that certain." Uneasily, she looked around her, keeping her sword at the ready as she peered into the shadows.

Katsushiro turned to her, his eyes bright with the thrill of battle. "Oh, relax, Nasami-_dono_, I'm sure that there's nothing to-"

His words were cut off abruptly as an object suddenly hissed through the air and struck the samuraiko in the side of her neck. In horror, he watched her whole body go rigid as she brushed her hand against her neck and pulled free a hypodermic dart.

"Nasami-_dono_, are you-?" Springing forward, Katsushiro barely had time to try and catch her as she fell.

"Bastards..." she whispered, staring at it even as the poison raced through her system, bringing her to her knees. "Cowardly _bastards_..."

"Nasami-_dono_!" Katsushiro cried, trying to pull her to her feet, but the sound of footsteps made him stop and turn around. In horror, he saw another group emerging from the darkness, and with a snarl, he let Nasami go and lifted his sword to protect her.

To his astonishment, he heard her say from behind him, "Katsushiro... run..."

"_WHAT?_"

"Get back to Kanna... protect them for me..." she gasped.

"I am not leaving you!" he said angrily, refusing to move. "For a samurai to run is dishonorable!"

"Please... do it for me... I beg you..."

Katsushiro turned at that, and saw the pleading expression in her eyes, saw how hard it was for her to ask this.

_"I would have gladly given my life trying to save theirs."  
"With your skills, you would have died in vain."  
"The thought of dying doesn't scare me."_

"Nasami..." His sword in his hand, he took a single step toward her, then cursed, shoved his katana back into his saya, and bolted.

Nasami watched him go through her hazy vision. "Thank you... Katsu... shi... ro..."

Then she collapsed to the ground, surrendering to the darkness at last.

"What do we do about him?" one of the assassins asked.

"Let him go," said another as they closed in around the fallen woman. "We got what we came here for."

_To be continued_...


	42. Bittersweet Reunions

_Note: And the fertilizer hits the ventilator... for all of you who freaked because of_ The Cost of Pride's _cliffhanger ending, I'm not-so-sorry to tell you that the next several chapters have cliffhangers, too! (Including this one.)_

_Watching things fall apart from the inside was a heartwrenching experience, and kudos all the way around to the FUNimation voice actors for the entirety of the episode "The Divide." But the line that really knocked me out was the last line of the episode, when Katsushiro is standing alone in the desert, staring out into the distance with empty eyes, and thinks to himself, "I've been calling the wrong man 'sensei.'" And also f__ull marks to J Michael Tatum as Rikichi. I liked him from the outset, but his whole scene of his reunion with Sanae was wonderful._

_The music for "Bittersweet Reunions" came while I was looking for something else__. John and I were looking for music to use in our Champions: Dark Guardians campaign and going through the music files on my computer when I opened "The Branded Curse" from the anime SPIRAL. And I had my music for this chapter..._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Forty-Two_

Ukyo, Tessai, and the Imperial Minister were in the middle of a private conference in the Emperor's chambers when a guard's voice came discreetly through the screens.

"Pardon me, Amanushi... may I interrupt?"

Ukyo set down the model he had been idly toying with on a table beside him. "Yes, yes... go ahead."

"We've received word the assassination attempts on Kambei Shimada and your father have both failed."

The young man growled in frustration and glared at nothing in particular. "Why must those two be so _difficult_?" He raised his voice once more so that the guard could hear him. "Understood... keep after them."

"Yes, my lord." The guard bowed and turned to leave when suddenly a thought came to Ukyo.

"Wait a moment," he called out, and the guard halted and turned back once more. "What about the group sent after that samuraiko?"

Just then, he, the Minister, and Tessai saw the silhouette of a second guard approach the first, kneel down, and murmur something in his ear, then depart. The first bowed toward the screen, and replied, "Forgive me, my lord. Our scouts have just reported that the assassin team sent after the samuraiko Nasami was successful."

"Excellent!" Ukyo crowed in satisfaction, and Tessai frowned to himself. "Keep me informed about the attempts on the other two."

"Yes, Amanushi." The guard bowed once more and departed.

"You do realize, young Master, that the woman's Clan will not be happy when they learn about this," Tessai reminded Ukyo in a low voice.

"Remind me again... who's in charge here?" Ukyo said petulantly, and Tessai lowered his gaze in chagrin.

"You are, my lord."

"Good. Don't forget that. Her Clan doesn't have to _like_ it. They just have to accept it. Now go - the assassin team should be reporting back soon. Greet them personally and then bring them directly to me."

"Yes, my lord," Tessai said softly, bowing low, then he left.

* * *

The following morning, Komachi and Kikuchiyo stood on the dock, going through a series of stretching exercises while Masamune finished his morning ablutions nearby. 

"One, two, three, four!" Komachi chanted.

"Here we go, stretch it out!" Kikuchiyo answered, huffing and creaking as he moved.

"One more time, other side!"

"All right, sprout, all right... are we done now?" the big machine samurai groaned as Komachi kept going. Suddenly Masamune glanced up toward the mouth of the caves that bordered the edge of the Firefly House's property and saw a boat approaching... along with a Yakan combat shell.

"Hey, Kiku, look over there!" he called, and Komachi and Kikuchiyo stopped and turned around to look.

"It's a Yakan!" Komachi yelped, and Kikuchiyo immediately dove for his sword. But just as he began swinging his huge sword around and shouting, he was brought up short by a grinning Shichiroji standing on the deck of the boat, his naginata staff casually balanced on his shoulder.

"Good morning, everyone!" he sang out cheerfully, and Kikuchiyo laughed.

"Momotaro, hey!" he greeted him, advancing down the dock to where Rikichi was guiding the boat.

"What is this?" Masamune asked in surprise, when the Yakan shell opened to reveal a sheepishly grinning Heihachi.

"I know... kinda sloppy," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head, while Komachi waved hello to Rikichi and Shichiroji.

Just then, Yukino emerged from the rear doors of the Firefly House carrying a basket of trash for the compost heap, but she stopped when she saw Shichiroji leap easily over the side of the boat to land gracefully on the dock with a lazy, "Hey..."

"Look what the tide dragged in," she said with a soft smile, barely managing to hide a wider grin at the site of the blond samurai.

"Missed you, too," he said dryly, winking at her.

"So Momotaro, where's your pile of treasure?" she asked, one eyebrow raised, studying from head to toe as though he had it hidden in his pockets somewhere.

"Oh, for crying out loud, I _knew_ I forgot something!" he yelped, slapping himself on the forehead. "To make it up to you..."

He advanced on her, and just when Yukino thought he would take her into his arms and kiss her right there, he lifted the basket from her hands.

"... I'll take out the trash." With that, he strolled off around the back of the inn, leaving Yukino shaking her head and laughing, while Komachi watched the two in puzzled confusion.

Kikuchiyo turned back to where Rikichi stood on the deck. "Rikichi, how's your wound?"

"I'm feeling much better now, thanks." He lightly rubbed the sore spot on his side where his ribcage still twinged sometimes, but he was alive and on his feet and not complaining. "And Kikuchiyo... look."

He picked up a wrapped bundle, and drew away the cloth to reveal a familiar-looking katana.

"This is Gorobei's old sword," he said softly, holding it with far more confidence than he had the last time he had held a sword. "With his fighting spirit at my side, I know I can help..."

His words died away as a sudden movement at an upstairs window drew his attention. It had only been for a moment, but his heart stopped in his chest at the sight of Sanae's face. Dropping the katana, he lunged over the side of the boat, dashed inside, nearly knocking down Kirara, Kambei, Mizuki, and Kyuzo, and ran straight to the room where Sanae was.

"SANAE!"

"Don't open the door!" came her hurried and desperate plea.

"Sanae, it's me, Rikichi! Your husband! _Sanae_!"

"I'm sorry, Rikichi... but I can't... I can't go back to being your wife," he heard through the door, and his fingers tightened almost convulsively on the wood of the sliding door. He wanted more than anything to rip down the doors and take Sanae into his arms, but he forced himself to stay where he was. He was only vaguely aware of the others coming up behind him, lending him their quiet support, but the rest of his attention was focused on Sanae, willing her to open the door, to accept him once again.

"I know about what happened... I don't care!" he pleaded, oblivious to the tears on his face. "You're alive, and we're together again... that's all that matters to me! Now please, let's go home!"

"I can't," came Sanae's despairing voice, and Rikichi bowed his head, forcing back the sobs that threatened to overwhelm him. All the years that Sanae had been gone, he had imagined how it would feel to see her again, but he had never dreamed it would be like this... never once imagined that he could be this close to her and yet farther away than any word, any touch could ever bridge.

"Come home," he begged, clenching his fists to keep from tearing the walls down around them both, but no matter what he said, no matter what he did, Sanae refused to open the door. Finally, he gave in to the urge of his heart and slid the door open, revealing Sanae sitting in the sunlight near the window. Moving as cautiously as he could, he approached her and knelt down several feet away, holding something out to her.

"Do you remember this?" he asked her quietly, and she turned to look at what he held in his hands.

Her comb.

She lifted her eyes to his and nodded once.

"Please, for me... wear it again."

"I can't," she said again, turning away once more. "I belong to the Amanushi-"

"I won't accept that!" he cut her off. "You are _my_ wife, and no matter what you say, I am taking you home!"

Sanae didn't turn around.

"If you want, I'll even build them a grave," he said desperately. "Right next to our house, a grave for the Amanushi and the infant, and I'll pray for them with you. _Please_, just come home!"

Sanae sank to the floor, hid her face in her arms and sobbed, giving in at last to the tears she had been holding inside since she had left the Capital. Dimly she was aware of Rikichi weeping with her, and as much as each wanted to hold the other, the pain and suffering they had both been through kept them apart.

* * *

Unable to watch anymore, Kambei turned and left the room, heading for the open courtyard in the middle of the Firefly House. He stared down at the koi pond, but his eyes weren't seeing the fish that glided gracefully through the water. Instead, he was seeing pale violet eyes filled with love and pleading... and dark blue eyes filled with despair and betrayal. 

Morosely he wondered if the same thing would happen when he saw Nasami again... whether she would accept his feelings toward her as she had before, or if she would shut him out...

... wondered if she would even forgive him once she learned what he had done, betraying her and her trust not once but twice - first when he left her behind in Kanna Village, and again when he condemned both her and himself because of Sanae.

As he leaned against the railing, his head bowed in exhaustion, he became aware of Shichiroji's approach, and the blond samurai leaned against the railing beside him.

"What a shame... what a crying shame." Shichiroji didn't know if he should cry or curse for how everything was turning out. The Nobuseri had been defeated, the women had been rescued, they were all safe - at least for now - but the sick feeling in his heart would not go away.

"I'll never forget my shock." Kambei's voice was quiet, and faintly recriminating. He could still remember the exact moment his heart had stopped beating when Sanae had begged him to spare the Emperor... and he had been unable to act, even to save Nasami's life.

Shichiroji frowned. If nothing else, Kambei was always reliable in his ability to set emotional reactions aside and just _act_. "Doesn't sound like you, Kambei."

"I couldn't kill him. I saw a light in her eyes... a light that shone out of love for her Amanushi. And so help me, when I looked into her eyes, I couldn't do a thing." He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the memory, and his mouth twisted in a bitter smile. "Pitiful, no?"

"Not really," Shichiroji replied, staring up at the clouded sky, watching the beginnings of a storm begin to form overhead. "We do strange things for those that we love."

He felt more than saw the other samurai flinch, and he glanced sidelong at Kambei, who would not meet his gaze.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kambei said softly.

"Mourning Shiori for the rest of your life won't bring her back, Kambei," Shichiroji urged him, refusing to be dissuaded by the other samurai's glare. "Surely by now you've realized that there was nothing you could have done to save her." Then abruptly he stopped, his eyes wide with realization. "_That's_ why you were so desperate to save Nasami. That, more than anything, is why you left Kanna... you love her."

Kambei's silence was all the answer he needed, and Shichiroji sighed.

"Still determined to keep everyone at arm's length... at least that hasn't changed about you." He sighed again. "This weather brings back memories. Back then, the sword was everything... we lived and died by the blade, and that was it."

Kambei flinched again. He knew at least one person for whom that ideal had never changed.

"Listen to me, carrying on about the good old days. Guess I'm showing my age," Shichiroji said ruefully, then he looked over at his former commander. "I'm sorry I can't be more help, Kambei."

With an effort, Kambei dragged his thoughts back to the present. "Since you and Heihachi are here, I assume the village is secure?"

Shichiroji nodded. "We rebuilt all we could, made Kanna more defensible, trained the farmers some more, too. Their attitudes, on the other hand... well, give them time."

"Katsushiro has left," Kambei said, his voice a mixture of sadness and disappointment.

"I'd wondered why he wasn't here," Shichiroji replied. "What happened?"

"Words were said, accusations, actually," the other samurai admitted.

"On whose part?"

"Both," Kambei answered. "He was right, however. And I can't blame him for leaving."

"Do you think he'll be all right?"

"I don't know... I wish I did."

* * *

Much later that night, Shichiroji and Yukino were sitting side by side at the top of the stairs, a bottle of sake at their feet, and Yukino's head resting on the samurai's shoulder. 

"It's so good to have you back... even if it _is_ just for a little while, Momotaro," she murmured, but just then Shichiroji sat bolt upright, jostling the geisha's head off his shoulder as he slapped himself on the forehead.

"Oh, geez, I almost forgot!" He began rummaging through his pockets one after another, searching for something while Yukino watched him in amusement. Finally he came up with a sealed letter and handed it to Yukino with a sheepish grin. "This arrived right after I did, when I was taking out the trash for you earlier. I was supposed to give this to you."

"What is it?"

She took it and studied it - on the front was her name in graceful calligraphy. Carefully she broke the seal and drew out two pieces of paper. As her grey eyes skimmed over the first page, they became puzzled, and then her eyes became enormous as her face went pale. "This... can't be..."

"Hmm?" Shichiroji paused in mid-sip and glanced down at Yukino, then he did a classic double-take and nearly dropped the cup. "Yukino? What's the matter? What's wrong?"

All Yukino could do was shake her head in mute denial, staring at the page she held in her hands, before suddenly breaking out in peals of laughter.

Shichiroji nearly tore the rice paper in two snatching the pages away from the geisha, who could only lean against him as tears ran down her face while she laughed.

In his hand was the contract that Yukino had signed when she first purchased the Firefly house, indicating the loan she had taken out to pay for the inn. Neatly inked across the bottom were three words.

"_**PAID IN FULL**_."

The blond samurai's mouth fell open. "What the..."

"Oh, Roji, you are hopeless," Yukino gasped as she wiped away her tears. "You didn't really have to do this for me."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," he protested, waving the rice paper around. "I didn't."

Suddenly Yukino stopped laughing. "You... you didn't? Then..."

Together they glanced down at the second page where, inked in the same strong handwriting as the outside of the letter, they read:

**_'The best love stories do_ not _involve Momotaro forgetting something so important as a mountain of treasure, so I'm sending it along for him_.'**

"Huh?" Shichiroji stared at the note in confusion, scratching his head. "What in the world is that supposed to mean?"

Yukino, however, was remembering the night that Shichiroji had first left with the peasants and samurai, fleeing the Magistrate's patrols...

"_Be brave, Yukino-san. He will come back_."  
"_But how can you know, great samurai_?"  
"_Isn't that how the best love stories end_?"

And suddenly the geisha's eyes glimmered with tears. "Nasami-_sama_..."

"You're saying she did this?" Shichiroji was startled for a moment, then he quietly chuckled. "Yeah, now that I think about it, that does sound like her. And that explains what she was doing when that Tortoise Express rider passed through Kanna a couple of days ago. She wouldn't say why, but she was laughing to herself for hours afterwards."

"Yes... when I met her, she was most kind. I don't think I'd ever met a samurai like her before, or a woman like her before, for that matter," Yukino mused.

"_You don't… disapprove, then? Not many samurai look favorably on one of their own living in such fashion with a woman who is not his wife, even in times such as these_."  
"_Life is too short not to love_."

The geisha sighed. "I do wish she had come with you... I would have liked to thank her in person for this."

"What do you mean?" Shichiroji looked at Yukino, concerned. "Nasami left Kanna Village the day before we did, and she was supposed to come directly here. Didn't she already arrive?"

Yukino shook her head, her eyes filled with concern. "No, she hasn't been here." Her eyes met his, and suddenly they both had the same troubling thought. "Oh, Roji, no... you don't suppose..."

"We shouldn't panic," the blond samurai replied with a calm he didn't quite feel. "It may be that she just had to take a longer route to arrive. With any luck, she'll turn up here in the next day or so."

"Do you really think so?" Yukino asked anxiously.

Shichiroji's silence did nothing to reassure her.

* * *

Alone in the desert, Katsushiro sat staring into the distance, oblivious to the heat and the howling winds around him as he mechanically chewed on one of the riceballs he had packed for the trip across the sands. His mind was not on crossing the desert, however, or on the dangers he might encounter along the way. 

Over and over in his mind, all he saw were Nasami's eyes filled with horror and desperation, how he had felt the strength in her grasp fade as the poison took hold of her, heard her choked gasp as she fell to her knees...

"_Katsushiro... run... get back to Kanna... Protect them for me..._"

Even as her captors had closed in on her, she had ignored them and focused all of her attention on the young samurai, her gaze pleading.

"_Please... do it for me... I beg you..._"

In all the time he had spent travelling with Kambei and the other samurai, he had been told to do things, asked to do things, offered to do things... but never before had he had someone beg him. For a brief moment, he wondered if he would be able to protect the peasants nearly as well as Nasami herself could have if she had been able to return, but then he banished the doubt from his mind. Angrily he packed up the remains of his food and shoved the rice back into his pack.

"I swear it, Nasami-_dono_," he said aloud. "I'll return to Kanna as you asked... and I'll protect them, or die trying. Not because you told me to... but because you asked me to."

Only then, there amid the whirling desert sands, did he realize just how deep his resentment toward Kambei and the other samurai ran. All at once, he was sick and tired of being ignored, patronized, or taken for granted. Now he really had a chance to make a difference, and was being counted on.

And as he got to his feet, he wondered for a moment how things might have been different if instead of Kambei, he had chosen Nasami as his mentor. In his eyes, the older samurai had always been so willing to give up, to remain untrusting, to keep his distance, but not her.

"I've been calling the wrong person '_sensei_,'" he whispered.

* * *

Kambei looked grave at Shichiroji and Yukino's news. "How long before you did Nasami leave Kanna Village?" 

"Just a day or so," Shichiroji replied, his elbows resting on his knees and his chin in his hands. "But it's not like Nasami to take detours or anything. I know she was pretty anxious to get here."

"Why?"

The blond samurai flushed slightly. "Well... I'm not even certain I should be discussing this, but a few nights ago, she had a dream... more like a nightmare, actually. Remembering the last night of the Battle of Shinomen Mori."

Kambei frowned, remembering a nightmare of his own while in the Shikimoribito's caverns, and then his mysterious dream while imprisoned at the Capital. "Do you remember exactly when she had the dream?"

"Five nights ago," Shichiroji said quietly. "How come?"

The older samurai looked away, shaken. For whatever reason, Nasami's nightmare had come to her the same night as his dream of her in the Capital. "Do you know why she finds that night so painful?" he asked.

"I have my suspicions," Shichiroji replied, watching his former commander intently. "From all the stories I've heard, that battle was nothing short of hell on earth. Thousands upon thousands died that night, from all the Great Clans, many of the lesser ones..."

"And the night that Nasami lost several close friends in battle... samurai that she was unable to save," Kambei finished. The thought was like a knife twisting in his guts - the harder he tried to keep her at a distance, the more he realized that she understood him and his past far better than he had ever given her credit for.

"_We share a bond, you and I... As long as we both live, neither of us is ever truly alone_." She had been more right than she knew.

"So... Nasami-_sama_ dreamed of that night because she was afraid of losing you as well," Yukino murmured thoughtfully. "It does make sense..."

"But the question remains - where is Nasami now?" Kambei frowned again, rubbing his chin with his hand. Then he lookd over at the geisha. "Lady Yukino, please ask Kirara to come here... and ask her to bring her crystal as well."

Yukino bowed and left, but no sooner had she gone than Kyuzo appeared in the doorway.

"More likely, Ukyo's men found her first."

"What do you mean?" Shichiroji said, startled.

"Assassin teams were sent after Kambei and Ayamoro. I killed them. But another group was sent after Nasami."

"Why didn't you speak of this earlier?" Kambei said, his voice low and more than a little angry.

"My only interest is in fighting you, not saving her," Kyuzo said simply. "Katsushiro volunteered to go after her when I saw him."

Kambei and Shichiroji looked at one another in dismay, but just then Yukino arrived with Kirara, who bowed politely to the samurai.

"Yes, great samurai?"

"Kirara, we need you to use your talents to try and locate Nasami," Kambei said quietly. "Can you do it?"

She nodded, her eyes concerned. "Did... did something happen to her?"

"She left Kanna Village before Heihachi and I did," Shichiroji told her, "but she never arrived here. We need to know why."

"I see," Kirara replied. "I'll need water, a bowl will suffice."

Yukino clapped her hands, and when one of the serving girls arrived, ordered her to bring the water priestess a bowl of water. A few moments later, Kirara was kneeling at a low table, her crystal hanging free, her eyes closed as she cast her mind into the spirit realm...

_Nasami and Katsushiro fighting back to back, surrounded by assassins... the samuraiko's blade flashing as assailant after assailant was cut down... Katsushiro's sword slicing open anyone who came near them... _

"She... and Katsushiro... were attacked by assassins," Kirara said faintly, her eyes still closed. "Together they fought them..."

"What else?" Shichiroji urged her. "Is she all right?"

_The last assailant falling to the ground... Nasami whirling in horror... something striking her from behind... falling into Katsushiro's arms... more shapes closing in... Nasami's eyes pleading... sinking to the ground... Katsushiro running..._

"Katsushiro..." she whispered. "Nasami was ambushed... Katsushiro ran..."

_Nasami collapsing... the assassins moving in... one raising his sword..._

"No," Kirara gasped, her head snapping up and her eyes wide. "NO!"

Her voice was practically a shriek as she pushed herself away from the table, knocking over the bowl and spilling the water everywhere. Her eyes were wide with horror, and in an instant, the samurai were on their feet. A few moments later, Komachi, Masamune, and Kikuchiyo arrived from where they had been sleeping in the next room, drawn by the water priestess' cry.

"What was it? What did you see?" Kambei demanded, but all Kirara could do was shake her head. He crouched down beside her and took her shoulders in his hands, shaking her. "Kirara, tell us! _What did you see?_"

Kirara lifted her eyes to Kambei's, and tears spilled down her cheeks. She tried to speak, but couldn't make herself say the words, and Kambei went pale, a terrible despair chilling him to his very soul.

As if in a daze, he let the girl go and rose to his feet.

"Kirara, please..." Yukino begged, moving to kneel beside Kirara and taking the priestess' hands in her own. "You have to tell us..."

"Nasami-_sama_... Nasami-_sama_ is..." Kirara abruptly covered her face with her hands. "Nasami-_sama_ is dead..."

_To be continued_...


	43. Divided Loyalties

_Note: I was dying to write this scene... and now I have my chance! Samurai never have it easy... _

_Also, full marks here to Laura Bailey as Mizuki. She and Shino are probably two of my favorite female characters, mainly because they do not just meekly accept that which is. And unlike so many of Kirara's speeches, Mizuki's is filled with the absolute ring of truth._

_The music is the wonderfully dramatic and tense "News of Marlowe's Death," from SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Forty-Three_

"Forgive me for interrupting, my lord, but a message has arrived from Tessai."

Ukyo set down his wineglass and glanced over at the Imperial Minister. "Really?"

"Yes, your Excellency. He sends word that the team you sent to the Village of Respite have returned, as you have instructed."

"Ah, good," the young man said, pleased, sitting up straighter on the high-backed throne.

The Imperial Minister bowed respectfully, then turned and gestured. Several guards took up positions along the walls, guns at the ready, then the rear doors to the audience chamber opened, and two guards appeared.

With them was Nasami.

"Presenting Kakita Nasami," the Imperial Minister called out, and immediately several of the Envoys began whispering amongst themselves.

"... daimyo's youngest daughter..."

"... saved the previous Emperor's son..."

"... thought she was dead..."

Even under armed guard, the samuraiko walked proudly up to the dais, her eyes focused straight ahead of her, never wavering from Ukyo. So commanding did she appear that one could almost forget that her hands were chained behind her, and that her two guards held their spears pointed at her.

Once she reached the base of the stairs, she stopped, her head thrown back to stare Ukyo in the eyes. Then, she carefully lowered her head and sank to her knees in a polite bow.

"Well, it's good to see that you have manners, at least," Ukyo said at last.

"It is the duty of a samurai to kneel in recognition of the Emperor's status," Nasami said carefully.

Ukyo then frowned at his guards. "If this woman is a samurai of a noble house, why is she in chains? Release her at once!"

"But your Excellency, your safety..." the Imperial Minister reminded him carefully. "Considering what happened the last time..."

"Shimada Kambei was a ronin, with no allegiance or loyalty," Ukyo said with a wave of his hand. "And from all that I've heard, I can't imagine that a samuraiko such as Nasami would threaten the life of the Emperor that she swore to serve. But if it makes you feel better..."

He lifted one hand in a negligent gesture, and the guards along the walls moved to space themselves in a fashion that the woman could be caught in crossfire, but not put the other guards at risk.

"Now, release her."

"Yes, lord." The two guards with her released the manacles from her hands and then stepped back.

Ukyo studied the woman thoughtfully for some time, tapping one finger against his lips. "Do you know why you are here?" he said at last.

"No, my lord," she responded, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground. "But I would have gladly come of my own free will, had my Emperor commanded it. Attacking me and then drugging me was hardly necessary."

From his pocket, Ukyo drew out a parchment and held it up. "Unfortunately, Nasami, I doubt that, when you're here... because of this."

At that, she lifted her head, her expression one of confusion... then as she saw Ukyo smirk, her face went pale.

"Ah, so you do know why you're here," he said in satisfaction. "But allow me to tell the rest of the court."

Ukyo got to his feet and waved the letter dramatically down at Nasami. "This letter was dispatched to me not too long ago, naming this woman as the _true_ murderer of the Imperial Envoy in Kougakyo!"

Outraged gasps filled the audience chamber from all of the courtiers present.

"Yes!" Ukyo shouted. "An accusation made by one of my father's bodyguards, who was later killed by this woman for bringing her terrible deed to light!"

Nasami winced. Being accused of one crime, she might have been able to prove herself innocent. But the instant that Kyuzo had killed Hyogo, he had also signed Nasami's death warrant.

"You see? She doesn't even try to deny it!" Ukyo stared down at the woman kneeling before him. "And yet... that a woman of her history would do something so foul... it almost seems too much to believe."

He descended the steps until he was standing directly over her. Kneeling down so that only she could hear him, he leaned close and whispered, "However, I am curious as to why that other samurai came all this way just to say that _he_ killed the Envoy."

"What other samurai?" she asked, dreading the answer, and praying that she was wrong.

Her prayers were not to be answered.

"Shimada Kambei."

"Kambei did what?" Nasami was stunned.

"You mean you didn't know?" Ukyo purred, leaning closer and relishing the surprised look on the samuraiko's face. "Oh, yes. Dear Kambei admitted before this entire court that he killed the Imperial Envoy, and then threatened the former Emperor's life as well."

In horror, she realized just how far Kambei had been willing to go to protect her, despite her pleas, and her blood ran cold in her veins.

Ukyo smirked. "Tell me, why do you think he did it? After all, I highly doubt that the high and mighty Shimada Kambei would do something so _noble_ out of _love_."

Nasami looked away, refusing to give Ukyo the satisfaction of seeing her pain, but the sharp-eyed magistrate was too quick, and he reached out with one hand to take her chin in his hand, and turn her face to his.

"So this is the sort of face that Kambei finds appealing. Hmm... can't say I see the attraction, but then, compared to my lovely Kirara, you're not much to look at, are you?"

Her eyes narrowed, but the spark of fury in them was clear, and Ukyo smiled, then he got to his feet and raised his voice once more.

"Kakita Nasami, I will give you this chance to prove your innocence. Can you tell me who murdered the Envoy? And who killed my father's bodyguard, Hyogo?"

Nasami shook her head, outwardly calm but inside seething with helpless frustration. To tell what she did know about the Envoy's murder would reveal that she had been spying at Ayamoro's palace, and an accusation of treason was hardly better than an accusation of murder... and to admit that she knew who killed Hyogo would implicate Kyuzo in his murder. The absolute irony was that if she were to name Kyuzo as the one who killed Hyogo, chances were that he would be executed for it, which would prevent him killing Kambei. But even as the thought crossed her mind, Nasami dismissed it. It would serve absolutely no purpose for the fair-haired samurai to die, not when he had killed the assassin to save their lives. She knew that silence meant death, but at least then, maybe she and Kambei would be reunited in the next life.

All she could do now was pray that she would be allowed to die as a samurai.

Ukyo sighed dramatically. "Oh, well. I guess even good samurai go bad sometimes. It must have to do with having no war to fight. So be it."

He lifted his head to look at the assembled courtiers. "Very well. I have given Nasami her chance to prove her innocence, but for whatever reason, she is unable to do so. Therefore, let it be known that any claim to succession or inheritance from her family is no longer valid, for the woman Nasami is henceforth to be cast out from her Clan..."

Astonishment and shock rippled around the room. Nasami, however, remained silent and closed her eyes, her lips moving in silent prayer, even when Ukyo gestured to his guards, who hauled her bodily to her feet.

"... as I hereby declare that you are stripped of your samurai rank. For your crimes, you are denied the right of petitioning your daimyo for appeal."

"Then if I may not appeal to my daimyo for judgment," Nasami said softly, still not opening her eyes, "I would beg for the chance to commit _seppuku_. I must not return my name to my ancestors dishonored in this fashion."

Ukyo shook his head firmly, well aware that by denying her the right to commit _seppuku_, he was condemning her to a fate worse than death. As terrible and ignominious a fate as execution would have been, for a samurai to be forced to live as a ronin was a far, far worse punishment, and Ukyo knew it.

"No. The Emperor's word in this matter is final." But the young Emperor wasn't yet finished twisting the knife in Nasami's heart. "Additionally, for dishonoring your Clan and your caste, you will surrender your sword, which will be broken before this entire court, and its pieces returned to your former Clan in disgrace."

To keep from giving in to a cry of dismay, Nasami sank her teeth into her lower lip, drawing a trickle of blood that marred the pallor of her skin, and when Ukyo saw it, he smiled.

"From this day forward, Nasami, you are condemned as ronin. Take her away."

* * *

Kirara, Shichiroji, and Yukino quietly approached Rikichi, who was sitting in a corner, facing the wall, clutching Sanae's comb in his hand like a talisman. 

"Rikichi..." Kirara said gently, trying to get his attention.

"How long do you plan on sitting there like that?" Yukino asked, kneeling down behind him, but Rikichi wouldn't look at either woman.

"I can't do this... I told Sanae I wasn't bothered by what happened to her, but I don't know if I can be the kind of man she needs me to be." The despair in Rikichi's voice was heartbreaking.

"Don't push yourself so hard," Kirara replied, her voice consoling. "Just... give it some time."

"Rikichi, some of us were discussing it earlier..." Yukino began. "And if it's all right with you, we would love for her to stay here with us... for a little while. Many of the other girls she was with will be working here, too. Whether we take in two women or three, it doesn't make much difference to me."

Rikichi rested his forehead on his knees. "I don't know what to do," he said in helpless frustration. "That monster kidnapped my wife and kept her prisoner. How can she say she's in love with him? Was life in the Capital that much better?" He looked up, staring at the wall but his eyes were distant, searching for an answer he could never hope to find.

"I'm sure she was fed all the finest foods, and given all the fanciest kimonos... so now, it's no wonder she doesn't want to come back and sweat in the fields."

"Rikichi!" Shichiroji reprimanded, but Yukino's voice cut across his.

"It may have been just a clone, but she was carrying his child. When you're held captive that long, emotions can do funny things."

Rikichi wished he could take consolation from that, but all it did was remind him that another man had stolen his wife, and he hid his face once again.

"Of course!" Shichiroji blurted out, not knowing what else to say. "Just think about it! I'm sure the Emperer had whole teams of experts finding ways to control her feelings, and make her love him! Like that whole baby angle with the maternal instincts and such! Pure trickery! Yep, Ukyo and his predecessor are exactly alike!"

"That still doesn't help me figure out what to do," Rikichi said without lifting his head, his voice muffled.

Suddenly the door slid open so forcefully it nearly came off its ridges as Mizuki entered. "Pull yourself together, Rikichi!" she snapped, striding into the room.

"Mizuki!" Kirara snapped, but the teenager ignored her and moved to stand beside Rikichi.

"If Rikichi doesn't do something to help Sanae, who else will? She didn't just leave her heart in the Capital, she left her soul there, too. And now he's the only one who can restore them both." She gazed down at Rikichi, and for a moment, Shichiroji was intensely reminded of the many times he had seen the same look in Nasami's eyes... that absolute unbending refusal to look away from the truth no matter how unpleasant or painful it might be.

"Sure, we dined on delicacies we never had in our villages, and yes, we wore the finest clothes every day because there was never any dirt or dust or sweat to worry about. But _look_!" She knelt down beside him and held out one hand, and Rikichi lifted his head to look at it. "Look at my hand. When I was taken, it was tough and callused. These hands could do _anything_, they could work any field. But now, after years in the Capital, they've turned soft and fair. They put nail polish and lipstick on me and told me to always smile."

Her mouth twisted bitterly. "But no matter how pretty they made me on the outside, I knew that I was no more than a harvesting field to these people - that I'd gone from working a farm to _being_ one."

"What do you mean?" Rikichi whispered.

"Well, isn't that what we were?" Mizuki cried angrily. "They planted the Emperor's seed in us, hoping to yield a crop of clones. How is that any different from our rice fields?" She got to her feet, tears of helpless rage in her eyes. "Do you know how _dehumanizing_ that it is?"

Rikichi barely managed to stifle a sob and shut his eyes tightly, and Mizuki abruptly remembered who she was talking to.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I guess you know better than anybody." She frowned for a moment. "Maybe I can ask Kambei to help me like he helped you."

That startled Rikichi out of his misery, and he lifted his head once more to look up at Mizuki. The girl's mouth tightened, and she turned to walk over to Shichiroji, her fists clenched.

"I need you all to destroy the Capital," she stated, her voice low but passionate. "Not just for our own sakes, but for my mom and dad who were killed by them, and for all the villagers whose lives were ripped apart. _I want revenge_."

Shichiroji was reminded once more of the samuraiko, and slowly he nodded. Revenge, he could understand, for he wanted it, too... and unless he was very, _very_ much mistaken... so did Kambei.

And behind them, Rikichi's eyes were alive once more, and now, filled with purpose.

* * *

Two days after Nasami's capture, the Capital had just departed from its latest visit to a farming village when Tessai entered the audience chamber from a side entrance and came to stand beside the Emperor. 

"My lord..." Tessai quietly cleared his throat to get Ukyo's attention.

"Yes, what is it, Tessai?"

He turned and saw his chief attendant holding a katana with profound respect.

"What's that?" Ukyo asked, swinging one foot idly back and forth, and Tessai frowned slightly.

"This is Nasami's sword, the katana _Mamorimasu_. You asked that it be brought before you to be broken and returned to her Clan."

"That was two days ago, Tessai. What took you so long to get it?"

Tessai flushed slightly. "Nasami made a request to be allowed to meditate for forty-eight hours to 'bid farewell to her Defender.' As a mark of respect, I allowed it."

"You gave her access to a weapon while she was in a jail cell?"

"She gave her oath in the name of Amaterasu that she would not try to escape, nor take her own life. Whatever else you may think of her, the woman is honorable enough that such a vow is sacred. As one former samurai to another, I ordered that she be given the sword. I apologize if I acted improperly."

"No, I guess it's all right." Ukyo took the sheathed katana from Tessai and looked at critically. "So what's so special about this sword?"

"It is a very old blade, with a great history, my lord. You do realize, however, that her Clan will not be pleased to have it broken and returned to them in such fashion."

"Then they should have taken more care in how they train their samurai, shouldn't they?" Ukyo said petulantly. "Well, let's get this over with."

Gripping the saya with one hand, he drew the sword with the other, but no sooner had he done so than he immediately dropped it with a startled yelp and took an involuntary step back.

Instantly Tessai and his other bodyguards were alert to some danger, their hands on their weapons, while the envoys and ministers who were present began whispering among themselves.

"Lord Amanushi, are you all right?" the Imperial Minister asked in dismay, but Ukyo was waving one hand back and forth as though he'd burned it.

"I don't know..." he said, startled. "It's just that... when I drew the sword, I couldn't seem to hold onto it." He reached down to pick up the sword, but as his hand drew near, he stopped and pulled it away.

"Perhaps one of us should try," suggested one of the guards. "After all, my lord, you do not wish to injure yourself."

"Yes, maybe you'd better," Ukyo said, taking a step away and sitting on the throne once more.

One by one, the guards came forward, but fared no better. Only Tessai was able to even get his hand around the pommel of the katana before even he felt the need to let it go.

"This is ridiculous!" Ukyo shouted at last. "How are we supposed to break this sword if no one here can even pick up the damned thing?"

"It is the katana of a true samurai," Tessai said quietly, his voice tinged with a respect that had not been there before. "It would most likely take a true samurai to break it."

He took a step closer and lowered his voice so that only Ukyo could hear him. "And the only true samurai we can find right now is Nasami herself."

"But I declared her ronin!" Ukyo protested.

"With all due respect, my lord, being samurai is more than just a matter of rank. It is a matter of belief, an adherence to the code of bushido. Just because you threw her out of her Clan does not mean that her heart follows your edict."

Ukyo leaned back in his throne and studied his bodyguard, who stared back at him implacably.

"Then how do _you_ suggest we handle this?"

"You _did_ offer her a chance to prove her innocence," the Imperial Minister said softly. "You can turn this to your advantage by rescinding the command in the name of... spiritual enlightenment."

Ukyo thought that one over, and then smiled. "Oh, I have a _much_ better idea. Summon the court... and bring me Nasami."

* * *

An hour later, the entire court was assembled once more, and Nasami was escorted in. The guards brought her before Ukyo, and once more she knelt at the base of the stairs. 

Unlike the last time, she did not wear her usual armor and travelling clothes. This time, she was wearing white robes similar to the ones Kambei had worn just before his execution, and her long hair was loose around her shoulders. It was clear that even though she was forbidden to commit seppuku, she had also undergone the ritual of cleansing, in preparation of surrendering her sword and facing expulsion from her Clan. Her face was as pale as her hair, and without her armor, she seemed small and fragile, but her eyes were composed and serene, and her demeanor calm.

For a while, Ukyo said nothing, but then he got to his feet and stepped forward.

"My loyal subjects, two days ago, you witnessed my declaration that this woman was to be cast out of her Clan, sentenced to become ronin. At that time, I asked if she could prove her innocence, and she said no. But today, we witnessed what can only be described as a miracle," he proclaimed. "All of you saw what happened when anyone tried to handle Nasami's sword, the true symbol of a samurai. It would seem that divine providence has made Nasami's true innocence known."

He bowed his head humbly. "I have also only just been told that this woman, in the tradition of many great and noble samurai before her, actually had left behind the wealth and status of her Clan to search for enlightenment, to better understand herself as a person and as a samurai. Learning of this act of selflessness touched my heart, and so I have asked Nasami to be brought here once more."

Through this whole speech, Nasami never once lifted her gaze from the floor, but her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Nasami, I have decided to give you the chance to redeem yourself. After all, a lifetime of virtuous service does speak well of your character, and in this new age of prosperity, we can afford to be lenient. Therefore, I ask you to do one service for me, and your good name shall be restored."

Nasami swallowed hard, and closed her eyes briefly, then nodded. "If that is your command, then that is my task."

Ukyo tilted his head. "You don't look too happy about this," he said in feigned surprise. "I would think that for someone with your skills, this would actually be quite simple."

"Name it, my lord," Nasami said at last, lifting her head and meeting his eyes directly. "It is the duty of a samurai to serve."

"You'll obey, no matter what I tell you to do?" Nasami's lips narrowed at the perceived insult, and Ukyo immediately held up his hands to placate her. "I could, after all, be ordering you to take your own life."

"I do not fear death, my lord. But if my death is what it will take to prove my honor..." She held out her hand to one side, and patiently waited for one of the guards to hand her a weapon.

"And you'd do it, wouldn't you? Commit _seppuku_ right here on the floor if that's what I asked?"

She did not lower her hand from where it waited for a sword, nor did she lower her gaze from Ukyo's face.

"Very well," Ukyo replied, and nodded to Tessai, who moved forward and handed Nasami her katana, sheathed once more. The samuraiko nodded, and rested the katana on the floor before her, bowing low before the weapon as her hands rested on the saya. For a single moment, her shoulders shook with the effort of holding back tears, but then her body went still, and she sat up once more. She carefully unwound the obi that encircled her waist so that about two yards of the material was in her hand, and then with deliberate care, she picked up the katana once more, unsheathed it, and wound the other end around the pommel. Then, ignoring the horrified whispers of the rest of the court, she straightened and moved the folds of her clothes aside to bare her stomach, and lifted the sword to point directly at her abdomen.

But as she prepared to slide the blade into her own stomach, Ukyo's voice rang out.

"STOP!"

Nasami froze in place, the very edge of the katana resting against her skin.

"You really would have done it!" Ukyo said in wonder. "I guess Tessai was right - being samurai goes beyond just your rank. Well _done_, Nasami."

He began to applaud, and the courtiers immediately followed suit, but an angry glare from her to either side immediately had them falling silent.

"However, it's not your life that I want, Nasami," Ukyo said. "But I am convinced of your sincerity, so I know that you will do what I ask of you."

Nasami did not move, but raised her eyes to his once again.

"The price of your freedom, your sword, and your status as a samurai..."

Ukyo smiled at her, and suddenly the samuraiko felt chills race down her spine, but she did not dare look away.

"... is the head of Shimada Kambei."

_To be continued_...


	44. Once More Unto the Breach

_Note: I absolutely love the whole idea of the last-ditch desperate charge against hopeless odds. As Nasami would say, "Do not be wary of men who take risks with titles and lands; be wary of men who have nothing to lose." At this point, Kambei believes that Nasami is dead, while Nasami has been ordered to kill Kambei. But along with the pain they both feel, they both also share a single desire - to see the Capital destroyed, and then, perhaps, to be united in death._

_Despite the despair that haunts them both, the music for this chapter is surprisingly uplifting... I chose it for a number of reasons. Because of the reunion of Honoka and Mizuki, because of Katsushiro's determination to honor his promise to Nasami, and because that same unflagging strength that has carried both Kambei and Nasami so far will now carry them both into battle to avenge the one they love. So the music for "Once More Unto the Breach" is the sweeping piece "Blade Fire!" from SIN: THE MOVIE._

_**Update: for those of you who have been visiting my website to get the Playlist, I did not realize that the licensing thing was interfering with the playlist. I have updated the file for Nasami's Theme and it should play without a problem. Sorry about that!**_

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* * *

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**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Forty-Four_

Kambei, Heihachi, Kyuzo, and Kikuchiyo had just finished loading up the boat when Kirara and Komachi came running up with cheerful smiles.

"I think Rikichi's feeling better now," Kirara said quietly, turning to look at Rikichi, who was staring down at the dock.

"Great samurai," he began slowly, sinking into a low bow. "I have a request."

Kambei waited patiently for Rikichi to gather his courage, and saw the farmer's hands clench into fists.

"I beg you... make the Capital _pay_ for what they've done," Rikichi said, his voice quiet but firm, and Kambei knelt down to rest a hand on his shoulder. More than the young famer could ever realize, Kambei understood how he felt - that need to lash out and hurt something when the one you love has been hurt.

"No need to ask... it's already been decided."

"Yeah, just leave it to us!" Kikuchiyo said confidently, climbing up out of the boat to stand behind Kambei.

"The Capital is on its way to Kanna Village," Kambei told the others, his voice somber, but in typical fashion, Kikuchiyo completely missed the atmosphere.

"That rat Ukyo, we're gonna knock him back to the fields where he belongs!" he laughed, while Komachi cheered. Then another voice cut in.

"Not so fast..."

Everyone turned to see Masamune, Mizuki, Shichiroji, Yukino, Sanae, Koharu, and Chiaki approaching, followed by Ayamoro.

"What's up, old man?" Kikuchiyo asked, his attention caught by the crossbow that the mechanic was holding. Masamune held it up and handed it to Kambei.

"I threw this together for you - it should launch anything you can fit in it. My treat."

"Thank you," Kambei said quietly, accepting the crossbow and handing it to Heihachi, who was eagerly studying the weapon.

"When this is over, I want to sharpen that sword again. You get me?" Masamune raised an eyebrow and grinned at Kambei, who smiled back and nodded in understanding.

The older samurai lifted his head and gazed at the group, wishing with all his heart that Nasami were here beside him to see all of them cheerful and ready to face what was coming, then turned toward the boat before anyone else could see the look in his eyes.

"Time to go."

"Whatever you say," Shichiroji said cheerfully, making to follow, but he stopped when he saw Yukino strike a piece of flint behind him twice in the ancient geisha tradition.

"Good luck now," she said sweetly, and Shichiroji gave her an exasperated look.

"Oh, come on... I just got back, and that's the most passionate send-off you can give?"

Yukino turned away so that he wouldn't see her grinning. "Well, maybe if Momotaro had brought some treasure like he was supposed to..."

"Yowch, that hurts," Shichiroji winced, rubbing the back of his head, but when Yukino turned back around, he swept her into his arms and gave her a kiss that nearly had her reeling. When she finally got her breath back, she stared at him wide-eyed and gasped, "Okay, Momotaro, you're forgiven!"

"Oooh, look at the lovebirds going at it!" Kikuchiyo catcalled, while Komachi wolf-whistled and the others burst out laughing. Yukino blushed scarlet, but Shichiroji just turned back to the others and flashed a wide smile and a victory sign before scrambling into the boat.

Then Yukino caught sight of Kirara watching her and Shichiroji with a sad and wistful expression, and she moved past the younger girl, whispering, "Be true to your heart, Kirara."

Kirara blushed as well, immediately covering her dowsing crystal with her hand, and just bowed her thanks to the geisha before following Komachi and the others into the boat, while Mizuki was making her own goodbyes to Chiaki and Koharu, who were both sniffling.

Rikichi took Sanae's hand and held it reassuringly. "We'll be back in Kanna real soon," he said softly, and she nodded with a faint smile, then they stepped into the boat after Mizuki.

Shichiroji started up the engines, and everyone else began waving to the five who remained on the dock. "Goodbye, everyone!" Mizuki called, just before they disappeared into the darkness of the Guardians' caverns.

"And away they go," Masamune said softly.

* * *

Alone in the woods, Katsushiro was dozing against a tree, his sword held to his chest, when he became aware of a voice, faint and just at the edge of his hearing... almost like a memory. 

"_Hey there! You boy! That's right, I'm talking to you_!"

Katsushiro came wide awake in an instant, searching wildly for the source of the voice. For a moment, he would have sworn he was back in Kougakyo, trudging through the streets, lost in his thoughts until distracted by a cheerful street performer.

Then he froze, for hovering over the stream that trickled past him was Gorobei, watching him with that startlingly intense gaze.

"Gorobei-_dono_," Katsushiro whispered in a strangled gasp, instinctively falling forward in a bow, but unable to tear his eyes away from the shade before him.

"_What's wrong? Come, boy, you look gloomy_," the spirit remarked, just as Gorobei had that day in Kougakyo.

And just as he had asked that day, Katsushiro growled, "What do you want from me?"

"_I see you here like this, and I have to ask... where are you going_?"

"To Kanna, as I promised Nasami-_dono_," the young samurai replied. "She... she begged me to go there and defend the village for her."

"_I see... and what will you do when that war is over_?" Gorobei asked him in that same dream-like voice.

Katsushiro looked away, his hand tightening on his sword. "I'll go anywhere I find a battle." But the spirit was obviously not convinced.

"_In your current state, boy, you don't stand a chance_."

Katsushiro tore his katana from his saya and lunged to his feet. "Hold your tongue!" he screamed, charging into the stream and swinging wildly at the ghost. "I will not be defeated!" But the spirit simply faded back toward the trees until it disappeared completely, leaving Katsushiro standing alone in the stream with his sword in his hand and his breath coming in tortured sobs.

Shaken to the core of his soul, Katsushiro knelt by the stream, splashing water on his face. For a long time, he knelt there, gazing into the water and staring at his own reflection, wondering when his eyes had become so haunted. But as he stared at his image on the stream, the image seemed to blur until he saw a girl with long brown hair and a dowsing crystal.

"_Don't run away from me_!"

"SHUT UP!" he shouted, lashing out at the water to dispel the reflection there, but as the water stilled, he saw that the image had changed. Where he had seen Kirara before, now he saw a woman with long white hair and a sword in her hand.

"_Katsushiro... run..._"

"Nasami-_dono_," he whispered, hiding his face in his hands. Then he got to his feet and walked over to where the battle turtle he had purchased off a passing traveller was calmly munching on the grass. He swung himself up onto its back, pausing only long enough to glance back at the water. But there was no sign of the ghost, no hint of either woman's face in the shimmering water.

"Let's go," he said dully, heading toward Kanna Village once more.

* * *

In the Guardians' caverns, Heihachi peered up at the Shikimoribito, who as usual were hanging placidly from the ceiling as always, watching them pass. 

"Don't these guys ever get a head rush, hanging around like that all the time?" he muttered, and Komachi giggled nervously. Kambei, however, was searching the shoreline, looking for the peasants' encampment.

"You say my sister is... here?" Mizuki asked, glancing around her with no small amount of trepidation, but Kambei smiled at her reassuringly.

"Yes... bring us ashore," he told Shichiroji.

"You got it."

Shichiroji expertly steered the boat up to the shoreline, and Mizuki leapt out of the boat to sprint up the path where she had seen several people working beside the bizarre trees that grew here and there in the caverns.

Then she came to an abrupt halt as she recognized Honoka, and eagerly called out, "SISTER!"

Honoka turned, confused, until she saw Mizuki running up the path toward her, and she dropped the satchel that she had been fastening to the tree with a loud gasp.

"Sister, it's me!" Mizuki cried, holding out her hands to Honoka.

"Mizuki? MIZUKI!"

"Sister!" The two women eagerly embraced, until Honoka moved the girl back far enough to stare into her face, hardly daring to believe that Mizuki was actually there before her, alive and well.

"Is it really you?"

Mizuki turned to point toward the shoreline where the others were just now stepping onto the sand. "Those brave samurai over there rescued me from the Capital."

Honoka followed her sister's gaze, and recognized Kambei as he and the others approached.

"Great Kambei!" she whispered, then she bowed. "Thank you so much for saving her!"

"You've got it backwards," Kambei said in amusement. "She's the one who saved me."

Honoka looked at Mizuki in confusion, but the teenager just grinned and stuck her tongue out at Kambei.

"I'm so happy for you, Mizuki," Sanae said, looking more cheerful than she had since her rescue, and Mizuki turned to her with a beaming smile.

"Thanks, Sanae, and I know you and Rikichi will work everything out!"

Ignoring the slightly uncomfortable looks she got from both Rikichi and Sanae, Mizuki turned back to the other samurai. "Thank you for all your help. I'm going to be fine here with my sister, so I guess this is goodbye, then."

"So it is," Kambei agreed. "Take care of that momento."

Mizuki's hand momentarily went to her hair, feeling for her hairpin, and then she grinned and winked at Kambei. "Well, it should be easy without you around, Kambei the thief."

For a moment, he smiled back at her, but behind him, Heihachi was sitting with his chin in his hands and rolling his eyes.

"Oh, Kambei, it's all thanks to you," he said, imitating Mizuki's higher-pitched voice before dropping his voice back down to his regular tenor. "Little do they know he never won so much as a coin toss before he met up with us!"

"Yeah, but he still had the stink of battle!" Komachi piped up, and Heihachi turned to her in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

"He smells pretty darn scary to me," she said melodramatically, but Kirara went red and covered her dowsing crystal so that Heihachi and the others wouldn't see its faint glow, still remembering her earlier humiliation in the rain by Nasami.

Heihachi saw her blush, however, and looked down at her. "Did I miss something, Kirara? Why What are you blushing for?"

"N-nothing," she stammered, but was interrupted by several Guardians abruptly dropping from the ceiling and surrounding them.

Komachi let out a yelp and nearly fell over Kikuchiyo, who had fallen over backward in surprise.

"Hey, why are they staring at us?" the big machine samurai asked nervously, until Komachi let out a gasp of horror.

"I completely forgot!"

"Forgot what, sprout?"

Komachi turned to him in utter dismay. "We left their scary suits at the Capital and we didn't untie their friends, either!"

Kirara went absolutely white, remembering Katsushiro's ploy to get them inside the Capital by ambushing three Shikimoribito as they had arrived with energy cells as tribute for the Emperor. In order to sneak inside, they had knocked out the Guardians, tied them up, hidden them away, and stolen their uniforms.

"We're so sorry!" she gasped, but the Guardians said nothing.

* * *

Ukyo was up on the deck of the Capital ship playing croquet when one of the guards approached and bowed. 

"We've received a report from our recon team," the guard said politely, but Ukyo didn't turn around, focusing instead on his next shot.

"Go on, I don't have all day."

"They've lost visual on Kambei Shimada's position."

Ukyo aimed a careful stroke at the ball. "Oh? Where?"

"He and his group were last seen entering the cave of the Guardians."

The Emperor sighed in disgust. "I knew they'd hide in there. Any sign of my... father?"

The guard nodded. "He's doing menial labor in a teahouse."

Ukyo threw his head back and burst out laughing until he was nearly gasping for breath. "Menial labor! That's great, I love it! What better punishment is there for a man who so blatantly abused his status?" He turned back to the guard. "I don't really care about him anymore. Let's just leave him to that fate."

"What about Kambei Shimada?" the guard asked.

Ukyo leaned on the croquet mallet and appeared to give the idea of attacking the Guardians' caverns some thought, when Tessai spoke.

"My lord, please. You mustn't forget our arrangement with the Shikimoribito."

"Oh, I haven't forgotten," Ukyo said blithely as the Imperial Minister arrived and bowed.

"Pardon me, Amanushi. We'll be arriving at Ushioda Village soon."

Ukyo nodded absently, then turned back to his game. Then he looked back over his shoulder at the guard, who still knelt, waiting patiently.

"Find Kambei and his team of samurai," Ukyo said flatly. "I believe we need to make an example out of them."

"Yes, my lord."

Ukyo looked over at the Imperial Minister. "How long until we arrive at Kanna Village?"

"Ushioda Village is the last stop before Kanna, my lord," the Minister replied. "We should be arriving at Kanna the day after tomorrow."

"Excellent." Ukyo turned back to his game.

"One more thing, Amanushi," the Minister went on. "The samuraiko Nasami... what should we do with her?"

"She will accompany us to Kanna Village," Ukyo said without turning around. "After all, I would hate for her to get lost along the way, and the last thing I want is for another samurai to join those peasants in revolt. She's far too capable a warrior to let her stand against us. We'll take care of Kanna first, then we'll set her on Kambei."

* * *

In the Guardians' caverns, Kikuchiyo was grovelling on his hands and knees before the Guardians, along with Kirara, while Komachi scrambled onto his back so she could bow and still see. 

"We're sorry, we're so very sorry!" he said. "If it makes you feel any better, you can kick my ass! Hard! I mean it!"

"I don't blame you for being upset, what we did was inexcusable" Kirara said hurriedly.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry too!" Komachi wailed.

Shichiroji stepped forward, his hands raised placatingly. "Come on, can't we just... put aside our differences and settle this peaceably... huh?"

Honoka also came forward to plead for them. "Please find it in your hearts to forgive these people. If it weren't for them, I would never have been reunited with my sister!"

"We never said we would _not_ forgive them," one of the Guardians said at last, and Kikuchiyo sat up so abruptly that he sent Komachi tumbling off his back with a splat.

"You mean you're not going to slaughter us?"

"Until the Capital has been defeated, you shall remain indebted to us," the Shikimoribito replied calmly.

"Indebted?" Kikuchiyo asked in confusion, while the other samurai looked at one another, puzzled.

"Indeed. You may prepare for your war here."

"I... thought you guys had a treaty with the Capital," Heihachi said hesitantly, and the Guardian turned to look at him.

"We do, but this is an opportunity to break free of the Capital... one we cannot let pass us by."

The samurai and the peasants spent an evening in the caverns with the Guardians, collecting additional supplies, gaining more information, and then to their surprise, the Shikimoribito presented them with a transport like the ones they used to move the energy cells to the Capital. Far faster than travelling by foot, it would cut their travel time down significantly and allow them to bring additional supplies along for themselves and Kanna Village.

"Why are you loaning us this?" Kikuchiyo asked them at one point, and one of the Guardians looked at him more closely.

"You intend to take on the Capital, and presumably save Kanna Village in the process. Therefore, it behooves you to reach Kanna before the Capital does. The only way to do that is by transport. The sooner you arrive, the more time you have to prepare."

"How long before the Capital arrives in Kanna Village?" Kambei asked from where he was conferring with Shichiroji and Heihachi.

"The Capital will arrive the day after tomorrow, based on its current schedule and stopover rate. After it departs from Ushioda Village, Kanna is next."

"Then how come we're hanging around here?" Kikuchiyo bellowed, clambering to his feet. "We need to get going!"

"Charging off into battle half-prepared is the surest way to lose," one of the Guardians said calmly. "Better you take the additional time now to spare you the trouble later due to a failure to plan."

"You sound like Nasami," Kikuchiyo grumbled, and the others' faces fell at the samuraiko's name.

"You mean the samuraiko who was with you earlier," the Guardian replied. "Yes, we heard that she had been taken by the Capital. We offer our condolences for the loss of your companion."

"Thank you." Kambei's response was so quiet that the others were not even certain he had spoken. "But Kikuchiyo is correct - time is of the essence here."

By dawn the following day, the transport was loaded and ready to go. As Kambei and the others approached, they saw that the symbols from Kanna's battle flag had been painted on one side of the transport, and a quick glance at a blushing Komachi told them who was responsible. Shortly thereafter, they were racing through the caverns heading for the exit that faced Kanna Village.

"Oh, now this is the way to travel!" Kikuchiyo exclaimed, watching the caverns walls zoom by. "Those Guardians are okay! I can't _believe_ they let us borrow this thing!"

Beside him, standing on one of the railings, Komachi was thrilled by the feeling of her first ride. "Wow, I'm even higher up than when I ride around on Kiku's shoulders!" she said gleefully.

The big machine samurai immediately scooped her up and set her on his shoulders so that she sat higher than any other point on the transport. "Yeah? Well how about this? _Now_ you're a Capital airship!" With that, he began running back and forth, making the transport tilt this way and that like a seesaw, to Komachi's laughing delight.

"So who exactly are the Guardians?" Heihachi wanted to know.

"Former samurai," Kyuzo responded, and Kambei nodded.

"Rather than becoming bandits or ronin, they chose to lay down their swords."

"Right! I should have guessed!" Heihachi laughed. "No wonder they have so many of these old ships from the War lying around!"

"And they're surprisingly easy to bargain with," Shichiroji called out from the helm. "I guess all their dealings with the merchants have rubbed off on them!"

"Now all we need to do is get to Kanna before the Capital does," Kambei stated, and the other samurai nodded.

* * *

Katsushiro paused at the bridge leading over the ravine to Kanna just before nightfall. Along the way, he passed Shino, barely aware of the farm girl kneeling by the side of the road, but she recognized him, and saw the deadly purpose in his eyes. Without pausing to think, she dashed into her house and snatched up her bow and naginata, then raced after him. 

For a moment, the young samurai stopped on the far side of the bridge to catch his breath, until his eyes were caught by the flicker of firelight just at the edge of the woods. Realizing in horror that one of the Shionameki had gotten there first, he spurred the turtle with a sharp jab of his heels, charging across the bridge and killing the mechanical assassin with a single stroke. To keep anyone from discovering the body, he hauled it onto the back of the turtle, then rode toward the center of the village...

... only to discover four of Ukyo's assassins already there, and Manzo, Yohei, Gozaku, and Mosuke on their kneels before them.

All of them turned in surprise as Katsushiro rode up and shoved the Shionameki's body off the back of the turtle, then dismounted.

"Katsushiro, you're back!" Yohei cried in relief, but Katsushiro never took his eyes off the four assassins.

"Retreat to safer ground, all of you," he ordered, his voice calm but commnding, and the farmers scrambled to obey.

"Hiya, kid, you come looking for a rematch?" the leader of the assassins smirked, and Katsushiro's eyes narrowed in recognition. The last time they had met was when he and Kikuchiyo had gone after Kirara after Ukyo had abducted the water priestess in Kougakyo.

"What are you filth doing in Kanna?" the young samurai hissed, drawing his sword and taking his stance.

"Last time we met, it only took one hit to put an end to your heroics. Sure you wanna try again?"

"_I'm_ the one asking the questions," Katsushiro replied, making an effort to calm his breathing and focus as he had been taught, rather than being distracted by the assassin's taunts.

"Don't cop an attitude with me, boy. I've been given exclusive privileges by the divine Emperor himself. You might say that my word is his word, so show a little damned respect!"

Katsushiro ignored the threat, as Nasami had taught him. "What business do you have here? Why were your sentries trying to start a fire?"

"Sure you're not just seeing things?"

"Don't toy with me!" Katsushiro shouted, and charged them.

The leader seemed to vanish, while another assassin appeared in his place, but Katsushiro didn't even hesitate. Two quick swipes, and the assassin was cut in half. Two of the mechanical assassins came at him, but they were cut down just as easily, and Katsushiro landed on his feet, searching for the leader...

... who was standing directly behind him.

Before Katsushiro could react, the leader grabbed him by the throat and flung him to the ground, then charged in for the kill. But Katsushiro snatched up a stone and flung it with deadly accuracy straight at the assassin's eyes, shattering his eyepiece and halting him in mid-stride. Then, just as Nasami had taught him, his katana flashed three times with surgical precision, and as he sheathed it calmly as he had been taught, the assassin fell over backward, mortally wounded with just enough life left in him to answer questions.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Katsushiro was marvelling at what he had done. There had been no hesitation, no fear, no doubt, no rage - only himself and the sword and the death.

_Satori_.

Nasami had been right.

But there was no time for that right now. The assassin's life was bleeding away, and he needed answers, and fast.

"Why did you come to this village?" Katsushiro asked softly, not bothering to turn around.

"Why do you think?" the assassin rasped weakly. "To destroy it..."

"What?" Katsushiro said, startled, turning around to look down at the assassin.

"We will burn this village to the ground, and the flames will serve... to herald the arrival of the Young Master! They're here... surrounding the village... the firestarters..."

With that, he gasped and fell silent, the life leaving his body at last. For a moment, Katsushiro stood stunned, hardly daring to think about the implications of what the assassin had said, but there was no time to worry. There was only time to act. Suddenly he became aware of two things simultaneously.

The first was that several of the Shionameki had arrived and were forming a circle around him.

The second was that all of the able-bodied villagers, men and women alike, had taken advantage of the distraction of Katsushiro's arrival to fetch their weapons, and now all stood with bows nocked - some on the rooftops, others on the street.

Their arrows were all trained on the Shionameki surrounding him.

The young samurai could hardly believe what he was seeing. These were not the terrified villagers who had stood with bows and arrows along the rock wall when the bandits had first attacked. The farmers carried themselves with pride, and handled their weapons with greater confidence than before.

Katsushiro stared, recognizing Shino at the edge of the buildings with several other women, her head held high and her bow held in steady hands, a mark of Nasami's training. He looked up at the villagers, and saw determination in their eyes. They might go down, but they would go down fighting.

In that instant, Katsushiro was both inspired and humbled. While he had gone chasing after Kambei, Nasami had remained behind and trained the villagers to a level he would never have expected. It was to this that she had expected to return, to lead the villagers in battle once more against the Nobuseri and the Capital. But now that she was gone, it was up to him to lead the small force she had left behind.

He turned back to the Shionameki and lifted his sword. With a howling war cry, he charged.

"YOU WILL FALL!"

_To be continued_...


	45. The Word of a Samurai

__

Note: "In the midst of death, we are in life." This whole series of scenes were probably some of my favorite from the entire series. And this whole chapter is about the choices that the samurai must now make. But what do you do when there is no right choice?

After this, there is no going back anymore.

The music for "The Word of a Samurai," oddly enough, came about after I chose the title for the chapter. When searching for music that conveyed that sense of inevitability, even while it had longing and romantic undertones, I turned back to one of the most underrated movies of all time - the track "Emma" from DARK CITY.

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Forty-Five_

"How long do you intend to keep me here?" Nasami rose to her feet from where she had been kneeling on the floor of the room assigned to her since Ukyo's reinstatement of her samurai rank. While she made a point of bowing politely, her demeanor was one of wariness when Ukyo ordered Tessai to remain outside while he spoke to the samuraiko alone.

Ukyo shrugged casually, but his eyes were intent on Nasami, who was once again wearing her armor as affirmation of her samurai rank. He was also well aware that she wore it to set herself aside from the courtiers and envoys, appearing as a warrior instead of a courtier. However, in deferment of the Emperor's status, Nasami did not wear her swords at her waist; instead, they were carefully placed on a stand beside her bed. "Well, we are headed to Kanna Village. You may as well come with us. After all, I would hate for you to… lose your way."

Nasami's mouth twisted in a bitter smirk. "I have travelled from one end of this Empire to the other on numerous occasions, my lord. Finding my way to Kanna Village will not be a problem, I assure you."

"Even when your mission is to behead the man you love?" Ukyo asked her silkily, but Nasami ignored the flash of pain in her heart to keep her eyes fixed on the Emperor's.

"Even then," she answered evenly.

Ukyo leaned against the door of her quarters. "I would have thought that having grown up in a place like this, you would much rather be in the Capital than a remote farming village. Or have you lost your taste for luxury, living as a wandering samurai for so long?"

Nasami shrugged. "Oh, I still enjoy the finer things in life, Amanushi. But a room that one cannot leave is a cell, no matter how luxurious it is."

"You'll be released when we arrive in Kanna Village, and not before," he told her firmly, turning to leave. "You should be grateful, however. At least you're not still in that jail cell."

Nasami wisely kept silent, but then Ukyo crossed the room to stand directly before her, lifting her chin so that he could look her in the face.

"How will it feel, do you think?" he asked her softly, and Nasami could not help backing away from the malicious curiosity in the young man's eyes. But even as she stepped backward, Ukyo moved forward until her back was against the wall. "Will you tell him what you intend to do before you kill him? Or will you just strike from behind, so that he doesn't have to see the look in your eyes before you cut him down?"

Nasami closed her eyes and turned her face away, her heart dying inside of her at the thought of killing Kambei just for Ukyo's sadistic pleasure. "Why do you hate him so much?" she whispered. "If I am to kill him, at least tell me why."

"I don't hate him," Ukyo said simply, and Nasami opened her eyes to look at him, startled. "After all, it's because of him that I am where I am now."

"Then… _why_?" she asked, and Ukyo leaned even closer to her so that his breath caressed her cheek.

"Because I want to destroy him utterly, and those that follow him," Ukyo murmured. "Kill Kambei, and the rest will fall into disarray. Their morale will be shattered, especially once they see that even a woman who loves him will kill him because her Emperor commands it. It will cement my power once and for all, even among the samurai." He smiled at the horror in her eyes. "_Especially_ the samurai."

"_No_," Nasami breathed, dismay filling her being like few things in the world had ever inspired. Ukyo smiled, and lifted one hand to touch her cheek.

"And then, who knows? Perhaps it will be time to recall you to your duties at the court, where I can… keep an eye on you." He laughed as the color drained from her face, then he turned to go. "We should be arriving in Kanna Village the day after tomorrow. Pleasant dreams, Nasami." Then he left.

Alone in her room, Nasami sat on her bed with her back to the wall, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. Try as she might, she could not banish from her mind the image of Ukyo's smug smile, nor could she banish the thought of Kambei dying by her sword. As desperately as she wished to restore her honor, the idea of killing the man she loved in order to do it was absolutely abhorrent to her.

With a weary sigh, she rested her head on her knees. Ukyo had known full well that Nasami would have willingly chosen death if she had known what he wanted from her, but it was too late now to back down. The samuraiko had already given her word before the entire court that she would do as he asked.

Climbing down from her bed, Nasami knelt before the window where she could barely see the sun through the swirling dust that always seemed to surround the Capital. Then she bowed so that her forehead touched the floor.

"Blessed Amaterasu, my heart is uneasy within me… I know that it is for this very reason that samurai should not love, because of the choice between loyalty to my lord and loyalty to my heart. But… but I cannot kill him in cold blood, even if my Emperor commands it. I can only pray that your light will illuminate my path, and guide me toward the truth."

_The truth_…

The words seemed to echo in Nasami's soul, and she bit back angry tears. "I beg your forgiveness, blessed Lady Sun, but I cannot see how I can be true to what I believe, if I must fulfill the Emperor's command."

A thin, weak shaft of sunlight shone through the window, so that Nasami knelt in the light of a sunbeam, and once again, her words rang through her mind.

_Fulfill the Emperor's command_…

"_The price of your freedom, your sword, and your status as a samurai… is the head of Shimada Kambei_."

Abruptly, Nasami froze, barely able to breathe as the certainty of what she must do hit her with the force of a blow. Then she bowed once more.

"Thank you, Amaterasu," she whispered joyfully. "I understand now what I must do."

Then she became aware of the knocking that announced the entrance of the guard with her food.

"Enter," she called out, not turning around, and the door opened. In came two of the guards, one holding open the door as the other carried a tray. For a moment, they paused when they saw the samuraiko kneeling on the floor.

"Your dinner, my lady," he said politely, and Nasami nodded, still not looking at them as they approached and flanked her on either side.

"Thank you. I must finish my prayers before I may eat, however. I would ask that you please wait a moment, for I have a message for the Amanushi."

"Of course," the guards replied, unaware that Nasami's hand was stealing toward her sword. And before either guard realized what was happening, she had straightened up, snatched her katana and its saya from the stand, and knocked both of them senseless.

She bent down just long enough to take the food from the tray. It would be the only food she would have on her way to Kanna Village, but it would have to do. Swiftly, she gathered her wakizashi and her tanto, replacing them both at her waist beside _Mamorimasu_, pausing just long enough to look back at the sunlight through the window.

Then she was gone.

* * *

Also making their way to Kanna Village were Kambei and the others, riding in the transport that the Shikimoribito had provided. As they travelled, they first encountered a group of ronin samurai who explained about Ukyo giving each of them an assignment to protect the villages. Then they ended up making an unexpected stop when Kikuchiyo discovered a huge patch of durian plants, which he began scarfing down with great enthusiasm. The others, however, kept a healthy distance away due to the absolutely rank odor that the plants gave off, Komachi going so far as to hold her nose and hide behind her sister. 

Kyuzo, however, suddenly became aware of a different smell beneath the foul stench of the durian plants, and began sprinting toward it, with Kambei, Shichiroji, and Heihachi behind him. No sooner did they reach the top of a sand dune, however, when the four samurai stopped in disbelief at the sight of mechanical wreckage as far as they could see.

"Wait… is that…?" Shichiroji gasped, taking a closer look when he thought he saw part of the face plate of a Raiden. The four skidded down the dune toward the wreckage, and the blond samurai pulled another fragment free and held it up for Kambei to see. "What do you think? Remnants of a battle between samurai and Nobuseri?"

Kambei shook his head as he took the fragment from Shichiroji. "These aren't sword cuts," he murmured, glancing over at Kyuzo who was running his hand along the edge of another fragment.

"Whoa, you're right!" Heihachi exclaimed from where he was peering through a huge hole that had been somehow melted right through a chest plate. "I think a cannon did this!"

"An awful way to go," Kambei said quietly, setting down the fragment he held as Kikuchiyo came up, munching on a durian plant.

"Man, look at this mess!" he exclaimed, while Shichiroji beat a hasty retreat from the stench. Kambei ignored him, however, and looked over at Heihachi.

"Heihachi, is there anything here we can use?" he called out, and the mechanic peered around with a professional eye.

"Let's see…"

Then a shout from Kikuchiyo drew their attention. "How about this thing?"

He was standing beside a half-buried Nobuseri sword, which Heihachi recognized as a Zankanto swordship. "You want one of these big ones, right?" With that, he turned and heaved the entire thing out of the sand, but as it landed on the ground, it began to vibrate, sending dust flying in every direction and knocking Kikuchiyo off his feet.

"What is it?" Komachi asked, coughing from the dust.

"Heap of junk, apparently," Kikuchiyo said, shaking his head to clear the sand out of his helmet.

"He's probably right, it's no good," Shichiroji said in disappointment, but Kambei rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure."

Heihachi turned to Kambei in curiosity, and caught the gleam of an idea in the older samurai's eyes. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" he asked, and Kambei met his gaze.

Heihachi grinned. "I'll take that as a yes." With that, he scrambled up on top of the Zankanto and began pulling off panels.

* * *

In Kanna Village, Katsushiro knelt before Gorobei's grave once more, hardly able to believe it had been only a few days since he had left, so sure in his purpose of rescuing Kambei. Now, the whole world seemed to have been turned upside down. First, there was the discovery of Ukyo as Emperor, then Kambei's escape from execution, the discovery of Sanae, the assassination team attacking Nasami… and all Katsushiro could do was wonder when everything had become so complicated. 

"Gorobei-_dono_, I realize now you led me back here because they needed my help."

"Ah," Tetsu said, where she stood beside Shino. "The spirits guided you back."

He lifted his eyes to the sword that he had placed on Gorobei's grave as a mark of respect, gleaming in the light of the setting sun. Then he turned and got to his feet. "After I saw a vision of him, I thought I should come here one last time. A final goodbye before joining the battle. But the Capital's henchmen were already here. I must have been guided by Gorobei."

_Not only by Gorobei_, he thought he heard, and abruptly he turned around, staring at the grave.

Standing beside the grave was the ghostly figure of Gorobei, as he had appeared in the woods to Katsushiro.

"Gorobei-_dono_," he whispered.

_You are almost out of time, Katsushiro_.

"But the others…"

_You must be prepared to fight alone_, Gorobei replied, but then came another voice.

_No, Gorobei-_san_, not alone_.

Katsushiro's jaw dropped as a second figure appeared beside the first.

"Nasami-_dono_? Oh, God… no… please don't tell me…"

_Do not worry about me... when the time comes, you will not be alone, Katsushiro. But you must prepare the villagers, or they will be slaughtered without mercy. Do it for me, Katsushiro..._

Slowly the two figures faded away, leaving only her words ringing in Katsushiro's mind.

_Do it for me..._

Katsushiro bowed his head, then he turned and walked away. As he passed Tetsu, however, the old woman asked him, "Great samurai, where is Kirara?"

He paused for a moment, but did not turn around. "She's with _sensei_," he said softly, then he left to prepare Kanna for battle.

Tetsu stood there, bemused, as did Shino beside her. "Hmm... and all this time, I assumed my granddaughter went off with those samurai to be with that young man."

Shino looked down at Tetsu in surprise. "Kirara did what?"

"You're slow, old woman!" they heard, and turned to see that Okara had snuck on them and was openly grinning.

"Okara!" Shino said, startled, and then she peered more closely at the girl. "You know something, don't you?"

"You got her reasons for leaving right, but you got the wrong samurai?"

"Then who...?" Shino's voice trailed off as it suddenly dawned on her exactly which samurai Kirara had set her sights on. Okara was right... it wasn't Katsushiro.

It was Kambei.

"But... oh... no, Kirara doesn't know that..." Shino looked away into the distance, and both Tetsu and Okara frowned at her.

"But what, Shino?" Tetsu asked gently.

"Kirara doesn't know that Kambei-_sama_ loves _sensei_."

Okara blinked, surprised that Shino knew gossip that she didn't. "You mean Nasami-_sama_? Kambei's in love with her?"

Shino nodded.

"No wonder Kirara never had a chance," Okara proclaimed. "I was wondering why he never really paid much attention to her."

The elderly woman sighed deeply. "Then it is as I thought. I tried to warn Kirara about her feelings, but she wouldn't listen."

"That's Kirara, all right," the child agreed.

* * *

Kyuzo stood looking out over the desert as Shichiroji wandered over to him, only his eyes moving to indicate his awareness of the other samurai. With a sigh, Shichiroji walked over toward Kambei, who was looking up at Heihachi on top of the Zankanto. 

"How's it look?" the white-clad samurai asked when Heihachi pulled his head out of the wiring of the ship.

"I think she'll fly for us!"

"Good! As soon as the repairs are done, we'll head for the Capital."

"All right!" Heihachi disappeared into the cables and panels again.

"Well, it might not be much of a warship, but it certainly is faster than that old wagon," Shichiroji admitted. "It's too bad we don't have time to find something with defenses."

"The Capital isn't going to wait for us," Kambei reminded him.

"So we're finally going to strike?" Kikuchiyo asked eagerly from atop the Zankanto where he stood beside Heihachi, and Kambei nodded.

"How many years has it been since we've taken on one of those airships?" Shichiroji mused. "I'd say I'm nervous, but I keep thinking of what Gorobei-_san_ would say if he were here."

"Yeah!" Kikuchiyo agreed. "He'd say, 'Nervous? You've got to be kidding! Get out there and die with honor, man!'"

Abruptly he was cut off by a loud wailing from Komachi.

"Komachi, what's the matter with you?" Kirara asked in alarm.

"I don't want Kiku to die with honor!" Komachi sobbed, completely distraught at the thought of losing her friend, and immediately Kikuchiyo leapt down from the ship to land in front of Komachi. It never ceased to amuse Kambei and the others how the big, blustering machine samurai could be reduced to mush by a few tears from the little girl.

"Oh, well, listen, I-I was just... you know, that's just... that's just tough guy talk!" He bent down to look at Komachi. "Who could ever die and leave you behind, sprout?"

Slowly she stopped crying and peered up at him. "Really? Promise?"

"Here, I'll tell you what," he said reassuringly, reaching inside his coat and pulling out his treasured family scroll. "I want you to hang onto this for me. It's my proof that I'm a samurai!"

"The scroll you stole?" Komachi said, puzzled.

"I didn't steal it, I found-" The big machine samurai stopped short. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. You were the first person who ever accepted me as a samurai... who believed in me. So I want you to have my most valuable possession. Keep it safe for me, and I'll be back for it. I promise."

"It's a deal!" Komachi said brightly, reaching out for the scroll and hugging it to her chest. Then she looked up at Kikuchiyo, her face somber. "But... you have to promise me something even _more_ important!"

"All right, lay it on me," he agreed.

"Okay, don't laugh..." she warned. "But when I grow up, I want you to be my husband!"

Kirara let out a gasp of surprise, Kikuchiyo nearly fell over in shock, and Shichiroji started laughing quietly.

"In this heap of metal?" Kikuchiyo asked in disbelief, caught absolutely flatfooted by Komachi's proposal. "I can't even farm rice!"

"Well, I love you just the way you are, Kiku!" Komachi declared cheerfully, beaming up at him. "I'll even cook for you!"

From atop the swordship, Heihachi was watching with a huge grin on his face, and at Komachi's declaration, he chuckled.

To everyone's astonishment, Kikuchiyo burst into tears. "Oh, I'm... I'm so happy! Are you sure about this, sprout?" The hope and plea in his voice was almost heartbreaking.

"I'm sure!" Komachi announced, and Kikuchiyo straightened up and gave a mighty triumphant shout from the very depths of his soul.

"Oh, hurry up and get older, little Komachi!" he bellowed joyfully, swinging the girl up into his arms and settling her on his shoulder. "I'm gonna be your husband!" With that, he began dashing around, Komachi hanging on for dear life and laughing in delight. "Oh, do you know how happy you've made me? Oh, I'm the luckiest guy in the world!"

"I'm the lucky one!" Komachi shouted to the sky as they raced past Kirara, who was watching them both with a tender and wistful smile on her face.

Then she turned to Kambei, and was stunned to see that he was also watching Kikuchiyo and Komachi, but with a troubled and sorrowful look in his eyes that was almost painful to see.

* * *

Later that night, the samurai were having a council of war near the Zankanto while Heihachi worked by lamplight. Kambei and Shichiroji were studying a map of the Capital, while Kyuzo kept a watchful eye on the desert around them. 

"Have you ever been to the Capital before?" Kambei asked Kyuzo, who nodded without turning around.

"Once, with my former lord."

"Are the defenses the same as during the War?"

"Mostly."

"Hmmm..." Kambei rubbed his chin and studied the map, trying to formulate the best plan of attack. While the Zankanto was certainly more maneuverable than the enormous Capital airship, he also knew that they were sorely outgunned. "What do we do about the main engines?"

"I say we disconnect them," Heihachi replied from the top of the swordship, pausing to look at the landscape around them. "If they're still running when it crashes, all this beautiful farmland will be destroyed."

"You mean 'all this beautiful farmland that's used to grow the rice you love,'" Shichiroji called up to him mockingly, and Heihachi grinned.

"Hey, we _are_ the rice kami. Gotta protect it, too!"

Shichiroji nodded. "All right, we'll leave cutting off the main engines to him. So it's our move, Kambei-_sama_. I assume you have a plan."

"No."

All of the other samurai turned to look at him, as well as the peasants, but Kambei's expression did not change.

"Really..." Shichiroji murmured. "None at all?"

"Tomorrow, death awaits," Kambei said somberly, staring morosely into the flames. In a way, he was almost looking forward to it. A life without Nasami was too painful to contemplate.

Kirara, on the other hand, was stunned by the samurai's quiet acceptance of almost certain death, and bit back helpless tears. She carefully placed a cup of tea beside him, trying very hard to keep her composure.

As Kambei picked up the cup and sipped his tea, he glanced over at her. "It's late, you should get some rest."

"Oh... don't worry about me. Just call me if any of you need anything." She bowed, then got to her feet and walked away.

Shichiroji watched her go, his eyes slightly sad. "She's a great girl..."

"Guess we should give Ukyo some credit," Heihachi said from on top of the Zankanto. "At least for his great taste in women."

Kambei, however, ignored them both. As hard as he had tried to resist, he had already surrendered his heart, but not to the young water priestess. Instead, he had fallen in love with a warrior, a woman who had willingly gone to her own death to protect him and his friends. First the Great War had claimed the life of Shiori, the woman he had loved in his youth, and now this battle had cost him Nasami. The sheer unfairness of it all was enough to make him choke.

"I should have known better..." he muttered, clutching his cup tighter, and Shichiroji glanced over at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I should have made Nasami leave while she still had the chance, but she insisted on staying with us, and it cost her her life. If only I had made her turn back..."

"You couldn't have known, Kambei-_sama_. And I doubt any of us could have really stopped Nasami." Shichiroji sighed heavily. "We all underestimated Ukyo... including Nasami-_dono_. But she wouldn't want you to give up... she would keep going, even if the situation were reversed and she had lost you... if for no other reason than to make the Capital pay."

"I thought we samurai were supposed to be beyond such a thing as revenge."

The blond samurai shrugged. "Maybe so... but if we're all going to die anyway, does it really matter?"

Kambei looked away. "It's almost laughable... that a spoiled young man like Ukyo should be able to wreak such havoc on the lives of everyone around him."

"It's hard to tell who the enemy is these days," Shichiroji admitted. "During the war, it was easy - you just killed anything that held a sword."

Kambei winced. "Perhaps the days of fighting battles with swords are no more." He turned to Rikichi, where the young farmer sat watching the wagon where Sanae was sleeping. "Rikichi!"

The young man turned. "Yes?"

"We won't wait for sunrise. As soon as the repairs are completed, we're heading out. We leave the women in your care... make sure they get home safely. That's your job. We're counting on you."

Rikichi nodded solemnly, recognizing the trust that Kambei was placing in him. "Right."

With that, Kambei got up and walked over to stand beside Kyuzo where he sat staring out over the desert.

"We will not wait for sunrise to leave," Kambei murmured. "When Heihachi has completed the repairs, we will leave for the capital."

Kyuzo nodded to show he understood, and Kambei turned to go.

Until faster than even his eyes could follow, Kyuzo had out one of his swords and was blocking his way, and all without ever taking his eyes off the desert.

Kambei said nothing, but just stared down at the gleaming katana that was barring his path.

"Just so you understand..." Kyuzo murmured, staring off into the distance. "We still have a score to settle."

"I have not forgotten," Kambei replied, still not moving, and Kyuzo turned his eyes toward the other samurai.

"But there is something you should know."

"And what is that?"

"When we fight, if I kill you..."

Kyuzo turned to Kambei, his eyes almost glowing with anticipation.

"I will fight Nasami-_dono_ next."

Kambei's eyes went wide. "What are you talking about?"

"After you left, I made her a promise. If you die by my swords... I would fight her."

"What for?" the other samurai whispered.

Kyuzo shrugged. "To avenge you, maybe. After all, she and I both know I can defeat you." He looked away once more. "But her... I am not so certain."

"Nasami is _dead_, Kyuzo." Kambei bit the words out one by one, feeling each one like a stab wound through his heart.

"Is that what you believe?" the fair-haired assassin asked softly.

"Kirara saw her when she used the dowsing crystal. Nasami was struck down from behind, taken by Ukyo's men, and even after he set me free, we know Ukyo tried to assassinate me more than once. He has no reason to spare her life, and every reason to kill her." Kambei shook his head. "No, Kyuzo-_dono_. Nasami is most likely dead. And soon, we will be joining her."

Kyuzo shook his head. "It's not important what you believe in _here_." He lifted the point of his sword so that it was almost touching Kambei's temple.

"I don't understand."

With the firelight reflected in his eyes, Kyuzo turned his gaze directly to Kambei's. "What's important is what you believe... in _here_."

Never taking his eyes from the other samurai's, Kyuzo lowered the sword to point directly at Kambei's heart.

_To be continued_...


	46. Seven Against an Empire

_Note: My absolutely FAVORITE part of this whole chapter is, ironically, the LAST part of it. To this day, every time I see that last scene of Episode 24 when the Zankanto comes racing over the hills, with Kambei, Kyuzo, and Kikuchiyo standing on the hull, it just takes my breath away. While I_ desperately _wanted to have Nasami on the ship with them (especially in light of the story I wrote called "Brave Words, Braver Deeds"), her place, at this point in time at least, is elsewhere..._

_I was torn on the music for "Seven Against an Empire", I really,_ really _was. At first, I had originally intended to use the track "Final Charge" from Hans Zimmer's superlative score to THE LAST SAMURAI. (To really understand why, hit YouTube and do a search for the keywords 'last samurai final'). But I wanted something a bit more frantic, a bit more chaotic... and found it in the track "Teahouse" from the score to MATRIX: RELOADED._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Forty-Six_

"_Nasami_... _Nasami, wake up_..."

The samuraiko opened her eyes from where she rested against a tree, having allowed herself a brief respite to sleep before resuming her journey to Kanna Village.

And froze.

Standing before her were three figures, hazy and indistinct in the pre-dawn light.

The first samurai wore an elegant kimono, his hair pulled back in the traditional samurai topknot, his katana in his hand.

The second samurai was huge, unshaven with long, slightly shaggy hair, wearing battered armor and a helmet, an enormous tetsubo slung casually over his shoulder.

The third samurai was slender, and also wore well-worn armor, his head shaved save for the samurai topknot, his face scarred, and carried a katana in his right hand and a wakizashi in his left, with a long no-dachi slung across his back.

Her eyes flashed from one face to the other, and she could hardly speak as she unsteadily got to her feet.

"Yoshio," she whispered, holding out her hands to the first as she recognized her older brother, but then she turned her gaze to the other samurai, who bowed to her in greeting.

"Kaminari-_sama_?" Her voice broke as she bowed to him in return.

"_It's been a long time, Nasami_-san." That it had - the last time Nasami had seen him, he had been fighting a Benigumo one-on-one, first with his tetsubo, then his sword, then even his bare hands, singlehandedly breaking the Nobuseri's charge before succumbing to his injuries at the Battle of Shinomen Mori five years ago. The two had survived many a battle together, and it was in defense of Kaminari's life that Nasami had suffered most of her worst injuries. But the big samurai had never forgotten the samuraiko's valour, and it was Kaminari that Nasami had served for the better part of three years as yojimbo, before his later promotion to an Imperial Magistrate.

Then the samuraiko's eyes filled with tears as she turned to face the third samurai.

For a long time, neither of them spoke, but then she bowed to the third samurai, her tears spilling over. "Kuroshin..."

"_Nasami_," he murmured, his voice barely louder than a sigh.

"Why... why have you come?" she asked as she straightened, her hand automatically going to her katana.

"_You face death today, Nasami_-san," Kuroshin told her.

Abruptly Nasami laughed aloud. "I have faced death many times, Kuroshin-_sama_, why is now any different?"

"_This battle will be like none you have ever fought. This time, you intend to fight the Emperor_," Yoshio replied, his face serious as he studied his younger sister.

Nasami shook her head, her foxtail swaying back and forth. "I intend to protect the Empire."

"_One woman against the Capital_," Kaminari rumbled, shifting the tetsubo on his shoulder. "_You may be one of the finest swordsmen in the Empire, Nasami-san, but even you can't take on the Capital by yourself_."

"I do not fight alone, Kaminari-_sama_," she reminded him.. "I will join the other samurai, those few of us left who still remember what it means to be samurai."

The big samurai abruptly grinned. "_You never did know when to quit, Nasami_."

Nasami smiled back. "Why give up when I know I can win?"

"_But what will you lose in doing so_?" Kuroshin asked her, his dark eyes somber, and she turned to face him, her face pale but resolute.

"My life, perhaps, but better than that my honor or my soul." Her hand tightened on the katana. "I will not abandon them, Kuroshin. You know that... maybe better than anyone."

Kuroshin nodded. Of all her companions, the dark samurai was the only one who understood just how much honor meant to Nasami. Time and again, he had seen her risk everything in the name of honor, including her life. She had bled for it, killed for it, nearly died for it.

Kaminari looked down at the samuraiko. "_We wish you luck, Nasami_-san." He lifted the tetsubo from his shoulder and raised to her, and a powerful thunderclap sounded, startling the birds from the trees and making the earth shake. "_May your own soul strike with thunder_." Then he faded back into the forest and disappeared.

"_May Amaterasu guide your steps and your soul, my sister_," Yoshio said softly, saluting her with _Sememasu_, then he followed Kaminari.

Only Kuroshin was left, but when Nasami was about to speak, he held up one hand to stop her.

"_I know, Nasami... I always knew_," he told her, and she looked away, embarrassed. "_But... I thank you_."

"I'm sorry, Kuroshin-_sama_," she whispered.

"_Do not be sorry_," he replied, moving closer to her, and sheathing his katana and wakizashi before resting a ghostly hand on her shoulder. "_But do not mourn for that which was not meant to be. Not when we both know that there is another for you_."

He stepped back, bowed deeply to her, and drew the no-dachi _Kiga_ from its saya, holding it up before him in salute. Nasami blinked back her tears, and drew _Mamorimasu_. Then, slowly, they brought the blades together until they touched.

"'_You need no armor, you need no sword_...'" Kuroshin quoted softly.

"'... you need only to know that you cannot be defeated,'" Nasami finished in a whisper.

And with that, Kuroshin was gone, leaving the samuraiko alone.

* * *

Komachi slowly opened her eyes, then abruptly realized that it was already sunrise, and that she was on the transport. Confused, she sat up, realizing that she had been resting in Sanae's lap, while Rikichi was steering the transport toward Kanna Village, and Kirara was sitting nearby. 

And the samurai were nowhere to be seen.

In horror, Komachi turned to Sanae, who was watching her with a somber and sad expression on her face. "Where's Kiku?"

"He's gone, Komachi," Sanae replied softly.

"But he... can't be! I didn't get to say goodbye to him!" Komachi wailed, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Your sister thought it would be less painful for you this way," Sanae answered, lifting her eyes to look at Kirara, and Komachi turned to follow Sanae's gaze.

Kirara was sitting by herself, her head bowed, as though completely withdrawing into herself, oblivious to what was going on around her. Deep inside, she felt cold and sorrow and a world of pain within her. Somewhere inside of her mind, she had suspected, had dreaded the truth, but now, there was nowhere left to hide from it, and it hurt much worse than she had ever dreamed it would.

Komachi crawled over to Kirara and shook her arm to get her attention. "Sister, why didn't you let me say goodbye to Kiku?" she sobbed, hurt that Kirara would have done such a thing to her, even if it was the best thing to do. But Kirara didn't look at her, instead keeping her eyes downcast and her voice level so that Komachi wouldn't see the pain, and even worse, the jealousy in her eyes.

"We can't worry about such petty things, Komachi, not when the war is about to begin. We need to be grown-ups, okay?"

But Sanae wasn't fooled by the calm exterior Kirara was trying so hard to maintain. She had seen what had happened the night before, just before the samurai had left for the Capital. To her, the younger woman's pain and heartache were as clear as the sunrise, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

"Water priestess..." she said softly, her tone gentle, and Kirara finally lifted her head to meet Sanae's eyes directly.

"I promised them that I would be strong, but I feel like I'm breaking," the water priestess admitted, her voice breaking slightly at the admission of weakness, but Sanae understood.

"Take it from someone who has been broken. When your heart opens a new window, there is no gain in hiding your eyes from the light."

Kirara's fragile control cracked, and she turned her head away in shame as the tears finally spilled over. "But if I allow myself to admit it, then I won't be able to keep from telling him the truth... that I want him, body and soul." She clutched her dowsing crystal tightly in one fist, and Komachi suddenly realized that the cord that bound it to her sister's wrist had been snapped in two.

And as she watched the tears flowing down her sister's face, Komachi realized what must have happened, and she began to weep her own tears. But then she lifted her head and tightened her grip on Kirara's arm.

"Then we just have to pray as hard as we can that they'll come back! If we pray with all our strength, we'll be fine, right? We're a water priestess family, it's our job to pray, so we just have to do our job!" she cried defiantly.

Kirara turned to her younger sister, astonishment at Komachi's strength of will breaking through her misery, and then she gathered the girl into her arms and hugged her tightly. "You're exactly right, my darling... I love you."

* * *

In Kanna Village, Katsushiro was making one last round on turtleback to check on the guards he had posted. Alerted by the faintest rumbling of the ground, he had spotted the massive form of the Capital airship in the distance, making its way toward Kanna. As he rode, he marvelled once again at how Nasami, Shichiroji, and Heihachi had fortified the little farming village - palisades, sentry towers, even weapons caches had been created in strategic points around Kanna. But by far, the most useful innovation was the strings of clappers that hung all over the place. When the ropes were tugged, the wooden pieces that hung from them would begin clattering against one another, a device that would spread a warning signal far faster than any villager could run or even ride in the same amount of time. 

To his dismay, however, almost all of them were asleep, exhausted by their efforts of frantically trying to get ready for their defense against the Capital. Katsushiro looked up at the sentry post and saw that Mosuke had also dozed off, and with a growl to himself, the young samurai bellowed, "MOSUKE, WAKE UP!"

With a start, the farmer came awake, leaping up and nearly falling over, and as he reached out a hand to steady himself, he grabbed hold of the rope on which the clappers hung. At the weight, immediately the wooden clappers began clacking until the racket had woken up all of the farmers, and alerted villagers from one end of Kanna Village to the other of the Capital's imminent arrival.

As the farmers began gathering in the open clearing in the village's center, several of them saw the Elder also making his way there. As they turned to him with questioning and uncertain eyes, he lifted his head proudly and announced, "It is time."

As though the words were a signal, the villagers turned, snatched up their weapons, and dashed toward their assigned positions.

Katsushiro dismounted from the turtle and sent it racing off into the woods. Taking a deep breath, he felt the cool breeze filling his lungs, and as he exhaled, he calmed his mind as Nasami had taught him that long-ago day at Masamune's workshop. Then he slowly drew his katana, each motion precise and perfect.

"_Concentrate on the katana in your hand... Feel the weight of the steel. The silk of the wrapping on the pommel. The cold of the tsuba... The katana trembles in your grasp, singing its song of battle and honor. Its steel gleams in the sun, or glimmers in the moonlight. It whispers as it slices through the air, or screams as it cuts down your enemies. Every inch of it resonates with what it means to be samurai_."

Katsushiro lifted his katana to a guard position, aware of the faint ringing sound emanating from the blade as he focused all of his attention on the sword.

"_Bushido is embodied in the blade, waiting to be demonstrated in the hands of its bearer. When it parries, it leaps to your defense; when it attacks, it draws you into battle; in meditation, it is a path to satori, that single instant of clarity for which the samurai lives and dies. The katana is an extension of your awareness. With the sword in your hand, there is no threat that you cannot anticipate, no danger from which you cannot defend yourself, no attack_…"

Out of nowhere, a brilliant blue light shot directly toward him, and without thought, he raised his katana to take the enormous blast directly against the blade. Then with a mighty shout, he brought the sword forward and deflected the blast back where it had come from, sending it slamming straight into the hull of the Capital.

"... _that will ever catch you off guard_."

Katsushiro stood staring in absolute and total astonishment at what he had done, his arms trembling from the effort he had exerted, his breath coming fast and his heart pounding within him. All he could do was stare at his katana, which seemed to shimmer with its own glow, as if it had absorbed some of the light of the blast it had deflected back.

"She was right," he whispered, his soul filling not with the red haze of bloodlust, but a glorious song of battle. "Nasami-_dono_ was right..."

* * *

Inside the Capital, the envoys and courtiers looked around in dismay as the blast against the hull made the deck tremble beneath their feet. 

"Silence!" the Imperial Minister called, stilling their startled whispers. "Do not be frightened! This is the Capital!"

Tessai, however, had been watching the display screens, and frowned when he saw what had happened. "It appears the main cannon was deflected. My lord, only the sword of a true samurai is capable of accomplishing that!"

"Samurai?" Ukyo said in surprise. "You don't suppose..."

He called up another viewscreen, and focused on the figure he saw holding a katana in defensive stance.

Katsushiro.

"I knew it," Tessai growled.

"At least it's not Nasami," Ukyo said consolingly, and Tessai shot him a glare.

"It may be too risky to use the cannon again," the Imperial Minister said delicately, and Ukyo pouted.

"No!"

"I should remind you that during the Great War, samurai were the only ones who could ever bring down a ship like this," Tessai said, his voice respectful but insistent.

Ukyo thought that one over. "So, they're looking for a fight, are they? That leaves us no choice..." He turned his eyes toward the Imperial Minister. "Call out my new soldiers."

Deep in the bowels of the airship, the activation signal was sent to the numerous drones that hung in their support bays.

"Good morning, everyone," came Ukyo's cheerful greeting, and the Nobuseri lifted their heads in recognition of their master's voice.

"All drones, launch!" The command went out, and the soldiers began making their way toward the launch bays on either side of the Capital.

"And they'll really do whatever I tell them to, no matter what?" Ukyo asked eagerly, watching the drones swarming out en masse from the Capital, and the Imperial Minister waved a hand at the display screens.

"Give it a try, your Excellency."

"If you insist." Ukyo raised his voice to be heard by the command relay system. "ABOUT FACE!"

As one, the Nobuseri stopped and turned to face the Capital, waiting obediently for their next order.

Ukyo's laughter rang out across the audience chamber as he leaned back against his throne. "Did you see that?" he gasped as he got his breath back. "They're mindless! Just obedient heaps of metal!"

The courtiers broke out in polite applause.

"Very impressive, your Excellency," the Imperial Minister said smoothly.

Ukyo turned to him in wonder and amusement. "When I was a peasant, I despised them so! Their mere presence made me sick." He tapped one of the display screens with his foot. "But they're kind of cute like this, don't you think?"

Tessai, on the other hand, was openly wondering why the entire drone force had to be unleashed all at once. "We're attacking one measly farming village. There's no need for such numbers."

"We can't go easy on them," Ukyo reminded him. "One thing I learned as a merchant is that any compromise leads to a lack of respect. Think of it as ridding ourselves of a failed business partner, Tessai. Nothing more." He turned his gaze toward his chief attendant, glittering with malice. "Just like I did with that Envoy."

Tessai gasped and took a step backward. In all this time, with everything that had happened, he had never once considered the idea that Ukyo himself had been behind the Imperial Envoy's assassination, but at the look in the Emperor's eyes, the only thing he could think was to wonder how he had not seen it before.

With that, Ukyo turned away and lifted his voice once again. "Listen up, all of you. Destroy Kanna... leave nothing left of it!"

"UNIT ONE, ATTACK!" came the command, and as one, the Nobuseri turned with mechanical yells and raced toward Kanna Village.

* * *

Mosuke, Yohei, Gozaku, and the others were preparing their weapons when Katsushiro came charging up. Leaping off the back of the turtle, he took up a defensive stance beside him. Although the peasants were doing their best to keep their panic under control, the sight of the Capital and its army bearing down on them was an intimidating sight. 

"Keep it together!" he shouted encouragingly when he saw Mosuke's hands shaking while he tried to load the gun he held.

"Yeah, sorry!" Mosuke replied, bending down to pick up the cartridges he'd dropped.

Katsushiro looked at the others, who were all watching him, waiting for him to lead them. "Take all the fury you've buried inside and release it on them!" he called out, and the peasants nodded, each of them taking up their positions.

"Get ready, they're here!" Mosuke whispered, aiming at the approaching Nobuseri forces, and the others went pale, but none fell back.

"Don't think about the fear!" Katsushiro told them. "Courage isn't about not being afraid... it's about being afraid and doing what must be done anyway!"

"You sound like Nasami-_sama_," Gozaku said with a weak laugh, and several of the other farmers chuckled, while Katsushiro grinned.

"I appreciate the compliment." Then he turned back toward the Capital and lifted his katana. "Let's kill them with the very weapons we stole from them!"

He lowered his katana in the signal to attack, and the peasants let loose a volley of shots that tore through the Nobuseri forces that were flying at them, sending several of them reeling and destroying several others. As the other outposts saw Katsushiro's group firing, they let loose their own salvos, striking at the second wave that was following on the heels of the first.

Mosuke and the others stared in astonishment, and then the peasants lifted their weapons and cheered.

"Let's stay sharp! Hurry and get the second round loaded!" Katsushiro shouted above the noise, but no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the Nobuseri's return fire slammed into their position, knocking several of the villagers off their feet, destroying the sentry tower, and scattering the farmers.

Shaking his head to clear it, Katsushiro quickly took stock of the situation. Most of the farmers were still on their feet, but several had been injured in the blast. "Get all the wounded out of here!" he yelled, and Gozaku, Yohei, and Mosuke leapt to obey.

When Katsushiro looked up again, he saw four Raiden bearing down on him, and he took up his stance once again, snarling in barely contained defiance. The four bandits powered up their defensive shields and moved into position to attack.

Watching him on the display screens, Ukyo smirked. "This won't take long..."

"We can't do it!" Mosuke sobbed, clutching the gun to his chest. "There's no way we can win against something like that!" 

"The word 'impossible' will not be uttered in my hearing!" Katsushiro bellowed back at them, and the peasants recoiled in surprise, remembering when Nasami had said the same thing during their archery practice.

And with a _kiai_ shout that made even the Raiden pause, Katsushiro charged. Moving faster than even he had thought possible, he sprang forward, leaping into the air to aim precise strokes at the first Raiden, neatly carving him to pieces before the bandit could even lift a weapon. The moment his feet touched the ground, he was moving again, yelling as he swung his katana once again, slicing through the second bandit with hardly any effort at all. Then he was falling through the air in a carefully controlled arc, scything through a third Raiden, even while the fourth one opened fire on him. Katsushiro twisted his body as he carved his way down the bandit, but was abruptly thrown clear as the Nobuseri exploded, and he instinctively wrenched himself around to land on his feet, sliding backward several yards before regaining his balance.

"Katsushiro, behind you! Look out!" Mosuke cried, and Katsushiro had barely an instant to look over his shoulder before the Nobuseri came bearing down on him, sword raised to cut him in half...

... until a single stroke from a gleaming blade sliced the Raiden cleanly in two, and the Nobuseri disintegrated in an explosion of smoke and flame.

When the smoke cleared, Katsushiro and the farmers were astonished to see a slender figure standing amongst the wreckage between them and the Capital, katana at the ready.

The figure turned to look back at him.

_Do not worry about me... when the time comes, you will not be alone, Katsushiro. _

"_Nasami?_" Katsushiro whispered in disbelief.

And she smiled, a wild grin full of life.

"I told you that you wouldn't fight alone, remember?" she called out to him, lifting her katana in salute to the cheering Kanna villagers.

"I... I thought you were dead!" the young samurai cried.

Nasami laughed aloud, turned around, and carved through another approaching Raiden with barely a thought. "Do I look dead to you?"

Then she whirled around and leapt into the fray, scything her way through the mechanical soldiers in a blur of movement. For an instant, Katsushiro remained where he was, just staring after her, until he heard her shout back at him, "Come on, Katsushiro, move it! We've got a village to defend!"

_Run...  
Get back to Kanna...  
Prepare the villagers...  
Do it for me..._

"Right behind you, Nasami-_dono_!" he bellowed, and with a hoarse yell, Katsushiro got a tighter grip on his katana and charged after her.

* * *

As ecstatic as the Kanna villagers were to see the samuraiko alive, well, and fighting at their side, far above them in the Capital's audience chamber, at least three people were less than thrilled to learn that Nasami had joined the battle on the side of Kanna. 

"Well... I suppose that on the bright side, at least now we know where Nasami's gotten to," Ukyo said, swinging one foot idly back and forth as he, the Imperial Minister, and Tessai were watching the battle on the displays. "If it's just those two, they still won't be enough to stop us."

Abruptly one of the guards came sprinting into the main audience chamber, skidding to a halt at the base of the stairs and kneeling in hurried respect. "Emperor, there's a lone attack ship approaching from the rear!"

"Attack ship?" Ukyo said in idle curiosity, as he, Tessai, and the Imperial Minister turned to one of the hologram display screens and magnified the image. "Is that so?"

On the screen, they could see a cloud of dust rapidly approaching, and then out from behind the sand dunes of the desert shot a single Zankanto swordship, heading directly toward the Capital.

And Ukyo's eyes went wide with disbelief.

Standing on the hull, implacably facing forward, were Kyuzo, Kikuchiyo, and Kambei.

As the Zankanto raced headlong toward the Capital airship, Kikuchiyo lifted his katana over his head, swinging it wildly and shouting in unbridled defiance and enthusiasm.

"YAAAAAA-HAAAAAAA! KIKUCHIYO AND THE BOYS! OUT TO KICK SOME CAPITAL ASS!"

_To be continued_...


	47. Into the Jaws of Death

_Note: Oh, this chapter was FUN to write! (Took longer than average because I was trying to get everything RIGHT, but boy was it worth it!) And after the build-up from "Seven Against an Empire," the only way to describe "Into the Jaws of Death" would be 'complete and utter chaos'... my favorite kind of scene to try and convey. (And I got to watch Episode 25 over and over and over, trying to get everything in there, including all the stuff that was happening 'off camera', ie everything with Nasami!)_

_Yet again, a nod to hubby mine for the music. While neither one of us ever saw the film STEALTH, the score is seriously cool... and the track "Henry's Death" will completely blow you away. _

_Get out your headphones, pull up the playlist, crank up the volume, and follow me into hell..._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Forty-Seven_

As the Zankanto zoomed across the open fields directly at the Capital, Kikuchiyo was laughing in open delight as he watched the hordes of Nobuseri swarming around the Capital. Not since the Great War had he seen a force like this. "Look how outnumbered we are! They'll tell stories about us for years!"

Up in the Capital's audience chamber, however, Ukyo was watching the swordship's approach, his eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out exactly what Kambei's strategy might be. The samurai had already proven to work more effectively as part of a larger group, and given his alliance with Nasami, the possibility of additional reinforcements was a legitimate one. There was also the information he'd requested about the last battle fought between the Nobuseri and the peasants of Kanna, and the stories of the samuraiko's saboteur tactics had Ukyo on his guard.

"Everybody, listen up!" he called out. "Kambei is far too cunning to risk everything on a frontal assault, so be on the lookout for a secondary force!"

"Yes, lord!" the drones responded in unison.

"Now move out!" he ordered, and with yells, the Nobuseri turned as one and charged directly at the samurai flying toward them like a malevolent dark cloud of war.

Standing on top of the Zankanto's hull, Kambei didn't even flinch at the sight of the mob of Nobuseri moving toward them.

"Stay on course, Shichiroji! Dead ahead!" he shouted over the wind so that the blond samurai could hear him.

"So you were really serious about no plan, huh?" Shichiroji replied with a laugh, and Kambei turned look back over his shoulder.

"Of course I was! Do you think I would lie about that?" the white-clad samurai asked in surprise, as though amazed that Shichiroji even had to ask such a ridiculous question.

"Hey, you never know," Shichiroji replied with a shrug and a grin. "Guys will say the funniest things to impress a girl!"

Kambei turned back around, but his eyes were not on the approaching Nobuseri forces. Instead, he was remembering a moonlit desert, and the conflicting feelings of hope and despair filling his soul...

* * *

_"Time to head out!" Heihachi had announced, closing the last panel with a flourish and leaping down from the Zankanto to head for the Yakan shell he had claimed as his own._

_"Good luck, all of you," Rikichi said quietly, bowing to them. "And be careful."_

_The five samurai had bowed in return, then turned to go, Heihachi clambering into his Yakan shell, while Kikuchiyo, Shichiroji, Kambei, and Kyuzo strode toward the Zankanto._

_Kirara watched them go, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she tried to hold back the words, but abruptly she tore the dowsing crystal from her wrist and cried out, "Kambei, wait!"_

_The four samurai stopped, but only Kikuchiyo turned around. "What, we forgetting something?" he asked. But Shichiroji and Kyuzo, suspecting that they knew what Kirara was about to say, both kept their eyes on Kambei, wondering what the other samurai would say or do in response._

_Shichiroji wondered if Kambei would accept the young water priestess as a substitute for the woman he had loved and lost._

_Kyuzo wondered if Kambei could find the courage within him to accept that Nasami might still be alive._

_Behind them, Kirara struggled to hang onto her composure, uncertain if she should speak, uncertain if she should remain silent, but then all at once, she could not hold back anymore._

_"I-"_

_"Don't say a word!" Kambei said harshly, his voice cutting across hers like the crack of a whip, and Kirara froze, her breath catching in her throat. She reached out one hand to him, but he did not turn around. While he was glad that the girl had finally found her courage to speak, it gave him no pleasure to destroy the hope she had nourished in her heart for so long. But in fairness to Kirara, to himself, and to Nasami if she still lived, he did not hold back the truth from her._

_"A flower needs water to survive. Use your skills, priestess... you'll see my heart dried up long ago. Do not wait for me."_

_With that, he began walking away once more, leaving Kirara and the others behind. He knew that in a way, his words were a lie. His heart still beat, still hoped and yearned and longed as did the hearts of other men, but his now belonged to someone else. And even if Kyuzo were wrong, and Nasami was truly dead, he would rather mourn her the rest of his life than give his love to another._

_And even though he could still hear Kirara's faint sobs, his mind was filled with a single, perfect memory of Nasami, standing beside him atop the falls, the moonlight turning her tear-filled eyes to silver._

_It was the only thing that gave him the strength to keep walking forward._

* * *

"You're a real heartbreaker," he heard Shichiroji say, dragging his thoughts back to the present. "Of course, you always have been. You should have told the poor girl from the start she didn't have a chance, and especially after you and Nasami-_dono_-" 

"Did I ever tell you that you talk too much?" Kambei said conversationally, cutting off Shichiroji's words, and Shichiroji gave a mocking harumph and went back to his controls.

Kikuchiyio turned around and looked at them. "What are you two gossiping about? You do realize we have a few thousand bandits to kill!" He turned around and pointed his sword at the oncoming Nobuseri forces.

In front of him on the hull, Kyuzo narrowed his eyes, drew his swords, and took up his stance, just as the bandits opened fire. His swords moving in a blur, the red-clad samurai deflected shot after shot, his entire being focused on each blast. The two katanas never stopped moving, nor did Kyuzo's body as he twisted and turned every which way, catching blasts over and over again on the blades and sending them back at the Nobuseri in a deadly onslaught. When the occasional stray shot made it past him, Kikuchiyo and Kambei were there to block them, sending volley after volley back at the approaching bandits and obliterating them with their own attacks. In the cockpit, Shichiroji growled at the controls, doing everything he could to coax the last ounce of speed and maneuverability from the Zankanto, dodging as much of the incoming fire as he could while driving straight at the Capital.

On the ground in Kanna, Katsushiro was watching the approach of the Zankanto with the mixed feelings of excitement, resentment, disbelief, and hope. But his momentary introspection was cut off when he became aware of an approaching Yakan combat shell, and he whirled around, sword drawn and ready to strike.

"I was worried I wouldn't find you in time," he heard, and Katsushiro lowered his katana in confusion as he recognized the voice.

"Heihachi-_dono_?"

The Yakan's lid popped open, revealing the red-headed mechanic's cheerful face. "You know, Kambei-_dono_'s been worried about you too!" He lowered the Yakan to the ground so Katsushiro could climb on. "Come on!"

"_Sensei_? Really?" For a moment, the young samurai's heart lifted at the idea that he hadn't completely wrecked his relationship with the other samurai after their fight at the Firefly House a few days past. But then Katsushiro's expression hardened, and he looked away from Heihachi before he said something he might regret. "Well, you can tell him I'm doing just fine on my own. I don't need his help - Nasami-_dono_ and I-"

"Nasami?" Heihachi blurted out in surprise, nearly falling out of the Yakan shell. "She's alive?"

"Yes, and she's here," Katsushiro said tersely. Just then another explosion rang out, and dimly heard beneath it was the samuraiko's laughter. "As you can tell."

"Thank the heavens for that," was Heihachi's heartfelt reply. "My God, we all thought she was dead."

"Well, she's not. And if all you came here to do was tell me that sensei was worried about me, you needn't bother."

With that, he moved away and began issuing orders to the villagers. "Those who can move, help carry the wounded back to the village!"

"HEY!" Heihachi called after him in frustration, but Katsushiro didn't look back. "One of these days, that guy's gotta learn how to relax!"

A sudden shout drew his attention, and Heihachi turned, then immediately ducked as a Raiden came sweeping past him, but just as the bandit raised his sword, Nasami was there, disarming him and then killing him in two rapid strokes. As she landed on the ground, she turned and saw the mechanic watching her, his mouth open.

"Heihachi-_san_!" she shouted in greeting. "So, come to join the fun?"

"This is your idea of _fun_?" he asked her with a grin.

"Of course!" she laughed aloud, whirling and taking out yet another bandit before landing easily on her feet once more.

"We all thought you were dead!" Heihachi told her, and her face became somber.

"For a while, so did I," she admitted.

"What happened? All Kambei would say that was Kirara had seen something while dowsing with that crystal thing of hers..."

Quickly the samuraiko filled Heihachi in on what had happened from the time of her departure from Kanna Village up through her escape from the Capital, and the woodcutter's mouth fell open.

"You must lead a charmed life," he told her enviously, and she smiled slightly.

"I _am_ a Crane," she reminded him, and he chuckled.

"At any rate, keep an eye on Katsushiro, would you?" Heihachi asked her.

"He hardly needs me to do that." Nasami gestured behind her at Kanna Village. "He's been doing a remarkable job in getting the farmers organized - all I've been doing since I got here is buying the villagers the breathing room they need to stay organized." She smiled, but it was not her usual wry smile; it was more gentle, but with pride. "He really does have potential, Heihachi... I tried to make Kambei understand that, but..."

"I know," the mechanic said with a faint sigh. "But I should take a quick look around, see if any of the villagers need my help while I'm down here." He reached up to pull down the lid of the shell, but Nasami stopped him.

"Heihachi?"

"Hmmm?"

"Be careful, all right?"

He popped his head back out long enough to smile at her. "I always am!"

As Nasami's eyes met his, she suddenly felt a chill down her back as though a ghostly hand had been laid on her shoulder, and as she watched him fly off, she wrapped her arms around herself.

* * *

As the Nobuseri forces came closer to the ship, Kyuzo leapt off the deck, springing lightly from one bandit to the next, leaving a string of explosions and death in his wake as he cleared a path for Shichiroji to fly through. Although he would never admit it, a part of him was glorying in the feeling of flight as he leapt from one Nobuseri to another, his arms spread wide, his trench coat flattened against him as he moved. It had been so long, so very long since he had felt this... _free_. 

"Nice move, Kyuzo my man!" Kikuchiyo bellowed as he bounced back yet another salvo from the bandits, and Kyuzo landed gracefully on the hull once more and began deflecting shots again without missing a beat.

Ukyo, however, was in no mood to appreciate Kyuzo's skills as he glared at the display screens in frustration, growling to himself.

"I don't understand that samurai!" he hissed, referring to Kambei as he leaned forward on his throne. "He escaped death with a _hairpin_! Where are his clever tricks? What can he hope to accomplish by attacking us head-on? Where's the strategy there - any idiot with an airship could do _that_!"

Just then another deflected blast slammed into the Capital's hull, and Ukyo switched off all of the display screens with a muttered curse.

* * *

"_Sensei_!" Shino called, sprinting over to the ballista where Nasami was helping Gozaku do sums on his abacus to calculate the bolt's trajectory. "_Sensei_, the other samurai..." 

Nasami turned to look at the girl. "What is it?"

Gasping, Shino pointed toward the Capital, and Nasami pulled out a set of binoculars and lifted them to her eyes. Through the smoke and the firefight, she could see the Zankanto rapidly closing the distance between itself and the Capital, saw the faint flashes of light where the blasts were being deflected back by the samurai on the hull.

"They're taking on a Citadel with a Zankanto?" With a sigh, Nasami lowered the binoculars and shook her head. "Kambei's either brilliant, or an absolute idiot." She tilted her head to the side and considered that for a moment. "I take it back. Kambei is both."

"Great samurai?" Gozaku asked, looking up at her in confusion.

Abruptly the samuraiko started to laugh.

"'The art of war is turning obstacle to advantage,'" she quoted, and she waved toward the ship-to-ship battle that raged on in the distance.

"Consider the situation."

She pointed the binoculars toward the Capital. "The Capital is a Citadel-class airship - stronger armor, greater size, greater firepower. However, it's hardly maneuverable, and the samurai have already shown that using the main cannon is an almost unacceptable risk. Sure, the Nobuseri are attacking in force, but they can't help but have to stagger their fire and their forces or risk blowing up their own allies."

Then she pointed toward the Zankanto. "The samurai, on the other hand, are outgunned and outnumbered, and yet those two factors are proving to be a help, not a hindrance. And Kambei knows it. It's why he's driving the swordship toward the Capital at maximum speed. It's a harder target to hit, and the samurai are using the bandits' own attacks against them. It doesn't matter what kind of firepower the Zankanto has - all the bandits are doing is getting themselves killed by attacking the samurai head-on."

She glanced over and saw Katsushiro take out another three Nobuseri that had gotten inside the perimeter of Kanna's defenses. "Ukyo is also making a mistake in splitting his forces. The wisest course of action would be to focus his efforts on either completely destroying the samurai, leaving Kanna relatively undefended, or obliterating Kanna itself and then turning his attention to the samurai. If he were to devote all of his attention to one or the other, he would be far more successful in his efforts. But now, no matter what he might believe, Ukyo is not the one in charge of this battle... Kambei is. And Ukyo is doing exactly what Kambei wants him to do."

"And that is?" Shino asked, fascinated despite herself and the situation.

"Instead of acting, he is reacting." The samuraiko's eyes were gleaming with an almost feral light that sent shivers down Shino's spine. "And it will cost him."

* * *

As Kyuzo, Kikuchiyo and Kambei continued wiping out bandits, it suddenly dawned on the samurai what was wrong with their opponents. They had come into this fight expecting a much more difficult battle, but they were winning far more easily than they had figured. All of them had fought bandits before, but this time, there was a distinct lack of strategy, of variation... 

"They're not fighting like Nobuseri," Kyuzo realized aloud when he was able to successfully feint and send a volley of shots that should have been anticipated back at a group of bandits.

Kambei agreed as he blocked another shot. "They're fighting without intuition... without souls!"

"As poor as their aim is, you won't hear me complaining!" Shichiroji remarked from the cockpit as he dodged another blast.

"That's why this is so easy?" Kikuchiyo asked, catching a particularly concentrated blast on his enormous katana and reflecting it back.

"Yes," Kambei replied. "They're all being controlled, and I think we can all guess by whom. Ukyo hasn't the same sense of strategy as a samurai; he's acting with brute force, rather than carefully applied tactics."

"So what's your next brilliant idea?" Shichiroji called out.

"Shichiroji, keep this heading!" Kambei ordered, and the blond samurai nodded.

"You're the boss!"

* * *

Ukyo was pacing back and forth in the audience chamber, trying to figure out what the problem was. 

"If it takes a samurai to kill a samurai, what's the deal? These machines are useless!"

Tessai stepped forward. "As you said, lord. These bandits are still just machines."

Ukyo frowned, but then he smiled brightly. "Oh, well. Guess we'll have to use the cannon!"

"That's a risk we cannot take!" Tessai reminded him urgently. "What if one of the samurai deflects the beam back at us again?" The young samurai in Kanna Village had reacted more by instinct than by planning; if one of the more experienced samurai were to aim the deflected blast back at the Capital, he could do far greater damage.

Ukyo, however, was in no mood to be argued with. "Then pray you're lucky," he said coldly.

"Your Excellency, our own allies would be killed as well!" the Imperial Minister protested, and the Emperor turned to him, eyes wide with surprise.

"Allies? Whoever do you mean?"

The Imperial Minister faltered. "Why, the bandits, my lord."

"Oh, them." Ukyo shrugged dismissively. "These empty shells are hardly the bandits I know. They'll make excellent shields. Forget them." He turned away, and his voice became hard and commanding. "Fire the main cannon."

* * *

A stray shot got past Kyuzo while Kikuchiyo was finishing off another bandit, and it sent him sprawling off the deck. Only by quickly shoving his katana through the side of the hull was Kikuchiyo able to keep from tumbling to the ground far below. 

"Hey, Kambei!" he bellowed up at the other samurai. "Got a minute? I could use a hand!"

Kambei grinned, looking over the side at Kikuchiyo. "I thought you were a samurai! You should be able to handle it on your own!" he called back as he skewered another Nobuseri.

"I can't help it, I've got bad wind resistance!" Kikuchiyo shouted at him in frustration, trying without success to clamber back onto the deck.

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a brilliant blue beam shot from the Capital's main cannon, blasting aside hundreds of the Nobuseri as it travelled toward the Zankanto.

"It's the main cannon!" Kyuzo called, straightening up and turning toward the Capital.

"They're taking out half the Nobuseri, too!" Shichiroji announced as he swerved around another explosion.

"Take us to full speed!" Kambei ordered, his mind doing some lightning-fast calculations about how long it would take the beam to reach them and the damage it could do if it struck them head-on.

"Come on, it's me!" Shichiroji said mockingly, increasing the speed even further.

"What are you doing?" Kikuchiyo hollered. "Get us out of the way!"

With the lightning-fast reflexes he'd honed during the war, Shichiroji swung the Zankanto just past the edge of the cannon's blast.

"Shichiroji, get us on that beam!" Kambei shouted, and the blond samurai yanked hard on the control stick, sending the swordship veering skyward until it was riding the blast from the cannon while hundreds of Nobuseri were blown to pieces beneath them. Then Shichiroji set the controls on automatic, shoved open the cockpit and hatch, and clambered out just as the Zankanto was blown out from underneath the samurai.

"YES! Direct hit!" Ukyo crowed, clapping his hands and laughing aloud as he saw the Zankanto explode in a ball of fire. But as Tessai peered closer at the screen, he frowned.

"Sorry, my lord, but it's not over just yet," he warned, and Ukyo stopped laughing, looking at him in confusion.

Out of the billowing smoke leapt Kambei, Shichiroji, and Kyuzo, all of whom landed easily on the main deck of the Capital airship with weapons drawn. Kikuchiyo, however, was plummeting toward the ground, thrashing his arms and yelling until Shichiroji nonchalantly snagged him with his grappling hand, lassoing him around the neck. Turning around casually, he hauled the big machine samurai up onto the deck to drop him in an undignified heap.

"Thank you... Momotaro," Kikuchiyo said weakly, and the blond samurai smirked and flashed him a thumbs-up.

Abruptly several guards and Nobuseri drones came rushing out onto the deck to surround the samurai, all of whom blatantly ignored the weapons being brandished at them while they took stock of their surroundings and their opponents.

Ukyo simply could not believe what he was seeing.

"You machines just don't get it!" he shouted in absolute frustration, stomping his foot and bellowing at the guards and bandits. "You weren't supposed to let them on board!"

The Imperial Minister turned to Ukyo in dismay. "What should we do, Emperor?"

Ukyo stood still for a moment, his mind racing.

_"What do studies matter, after all, when you are faced with an immediate decision and must rely on instinct?"_

His own words to the previous Amanushi at the end of his Test as heir came back to him, and he focused his attention on the four samurai standing on the hull of the Capital. Shichiroji and Kikuchiyo were unknown elements, Kyuzo had no loyalties or motivations with which he could be swayed, but Kambei...

Ukyo turned to the Minister, his voice raised in command.

"Everyone, listen closely! I want you to go into Kanna and take the farmers hostage! Then Kambei will do whatever we want!"

"As you wish," the Nobuseri drones rumbled in unison, turning to head toward the farming village.

"No farmers are to be killed until I give the word!" Ukyo ordered them, and they nodded.

"Understood." With that, they made an about-face and began swarming toward Kanna Village.

_To be continued_...


	48. Kanna's Last Defender

_Note: The tide of battle shifts once again as the samurai take the fight to the Emperor and the Nobuseri. But while all hell breaks loose in the Capital, and Katsushiro and Heihachi leave to join the other four samurai, I wanted to focus once again on the battle for Kanna itself. And who better to take up the role as "Kanna's Last Defender" than Nasami and_ Mamorimasu?

_I couldn't find exactly what I wanted for this chapter, so I fell back on a favored tactic of mine - CREATE it. With the help of my favorite music editing software, and the inimitable score for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by Patrick Doyle, I created a unique remix just for "Kanna's Last Defender." Enjoy..._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Forty-Eight_

Katsushiro was the first one to notice the approaching horde of Nobuseri drones, and his face went ashen. Leaping onto the back of his battle turtle, he spurred the turtle toward the center of the village, shouting for Nasami.

A few moments later, Nasami came striding out of the forest where she had been helping Shino and some of the other villagers move some of the wounded away from the worst of the fighting. "What is it?" she called to him, and he pointed toward the distance. She pulled the binoculars from where they hung at her side to study the approaching swarm of bandits. At first she seemed almost puzzled, but then her eyes widened with dismay as she studied their approach, how they were deployed, and where they seemed to be focusing their attacks.

"Damn him... he's learning," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" Katsushiro asked her, turning to look back at the bandits.

"That's not an attack formation, that's an entrapment formation," she spat, pointing her katana at the Nobuseri as they started fanning out. "Ukyo's realized that a head-on assault against Kanna isn't going to do him any good, so he's planning to encircle the village. My guess is that he's either going to use Kanna as a shield, so that the samurai can't attack without doing collateral damage to the village, or else he's planning on taking hostages. The cowardly bastard."

The samuraiko whirled around and lifted her voice in a commanding shout.

"Anyone not tending the wounded, take up your weapons and get into defensive positions! NOW!"

The farmers leapt to obey.

"Great samurai!"

Both Nasami and Katsushiro turned as one of the younger farmers came running up and bowed hurriedly. "Gozaku and Yohei asked me to tell you that the ballista is aimed and ready to fire! What are your orders?"

Without hesitation, Katsushiro turned to Nasami, deferring to the samuraiko's judgment now that she was here to help with Kanna's defenses. "What do you recommend?"

Nasami considered for a moment, thinking fast about how to deploy what resources they still had, then she glanced at the young samurai. "Katsushiro, go with him and handle the ballista. Once it's fired, don't bother wasting time reloading the thing, there's no time for that. I want the ballista crew divided into three groups - one team to protect the wounded, one team to serve as runners, the third team to return with you to join the others defending the village. I'm going to stay here and keep the rest of the peasants organized. Understood?"

"Yes, Nasami-_dono_," Katsushiro replied, nodding and turning away.

"I'm counting on you, Katsushiro!" she called after him, and he stopped and looked back at her.

"I know," he said quietly, then he swung himself onto the back of his battle turtle and dashed off into the trees toward the ridge where the ballista was positioned.

Nasami turned to the villagers surrounding her, waiting for orders. Her mouth set into a grim line, she met their gazes one by one, then raised her voice. "Shino, take eleven women armed with bows and position yourselves atop the sentry towers, three in each." Her eyes met that of her student. "Your team will take the western sentry tower, facing the Capital."

She looked at the other farmers as Shino bowed, selected eleven other women, and headed off toward the towers. "All other women to take up their bows and form ranks at the palisades, staggered formation, arrows at the ready. I want the men to take up the firearms and position yourselves at the edge of the canyon. Women, aim your fire at the approaching Nobuseri; men, aim your attacks at the Capital itself. If you find yourself under fire, abandon the post and take all the wounded to the nearest sentry tower."

The farmers bowed as one, but then one of the younger boys approached. "What about us, great samurai? We want to fight, too!"

The samuraiko shook her head. "No... war is ugly enough without the involvement of children, too."

"Please?" one of the other boys wheedled. "We're strong, we can do it!"

"This has nothing to do with strength," Nasami said, her voice low. "The only purpose you could possibly serve would be to get yourselves killed, and that I will not allow." She strode forward, her sword drawn, and she levelled it at them. "I order you, and all other children under the age of fifteen, to go to the camp where the wounded are being tended. You will assist the farmers who are in charge of matters there. You will find every child in this village and make certain they go with you."

Her mouth hardened as she saw them open their mouths in protest, and her voice became icy cold. "You know the penalty for disobeying the command of a samurai."

The children's faces went white, as did many of the farmers. They knew exactly what she meant - by the ancient tradition of _kirisutegomen_, a samurai could kill a member of any lower caste with impunity. And judging by the look in her eyes, not a single villager doubted that the samuraiko would invoke that right and kill them where they stood if they disobeyed. Without another word of protest, the children bowed and sprinted off toward the woods, dragging their smaller siblings behind them.

The samuraiko turned to face the villagers, several of whom were staring at her with something approaching disbelief in their eyes. But as her eyes met theirs once again, they lowered their gaze.

"I know that my words sound harsh," Nasami said softly, "but I will not let your children come to harm. And neither will you."

At that, the farmers' heads came up, their eyes shining with pride, and the samuraiko nodded in satisfaction.

"Man your stations."

* * *

A few minutes later, up by the ballista where Yohei and Gozaku were making last-minute adjustments, Okara turned at the sound of approaching turtle footsteps and announced slyly, "Katsu's here!" 

"Great samurai!" Yohei called out, waving the younger man over as he leapt from the back of the turtle and strode over to them. Katsushiro looked up at the ballista and saw that the cord had been pulled taut, the winch was ready and locked into position, and the engineering team once again stood ready with sledgehammers to help drive the bolt with falling boulders.

"Are we ready to launch?" he asked, and Gozaku nodded.

"The ballista is loaded, great samurai, and I've aimed it like you asked. According to my abacus and the formula Heihachi gave us, it should hit somewhere along the front deck."

"Excellent." Katsushiro raised his voice so that the entire ballista crew could hear him. "Everyone, listen up! Once the ballista has been launched, I want the engineering team to head back into the village to protect the wounded, and the loading team to head to the checkpoints around the village, then bring status updates to Nasami-_dono_! Everyone else, join Nasami-_dono_ down in the village to reinforce the defenders down there! Are we clear on that?"

"Yes, great samurai," came a chorus of responses, and he nodded in approval.

Just then, Mosuke came up, holding a barrel to his chest.

"I thought we'd set the front on fire, like the arrows!" he announced, and Katsushiro saw that the barrel contained some of the flammable material that Nasami and Shichiroji had created during the last battle with the bandits.

"Good idea. But I've got one minor change."

And he grinned.

As two of the other farmers quickly coated the point of the ballista bolt with the oily powder, then lit it with torches, Katsushiro clambered up along the support beams, and climbed onto the bolt, driving his katana into the wood to brace himself.

"Just like we planned! Straight at the capital!" he shouted down to the farmers.

"But what about you?" Gozaku yelped, staring at the young samurai with wide eyes.

"I'm a samurai," Katsushiro replied quietly. "I'll be fine."

"But if you go to the Capital, who will defend us?" Yohei called up to him, his voice quavering, and Katsushiro looked down at him.

"Nasami-_dono_ will not let any of you come to harm. She can help you far better than I could ever hope to."

"Great samurai, are you certain about this?" Manzo asked, and Katsushiro nodded. Then he glanced back at the farmer standing beside the winch. "FIRE!" he bellowed.

With that, the peasant nodded and brought the sledgehammer down with all of his strength, knocking the clasp free and setting the enormous bolt in motion.

As the bolt soared into the sky, Nasami glanced up and saw what Katsushiro was doing. Her eyes went wide in absolute disbelief, and she shouted up at the sky as the bolt swept overhead.

"KATSUSHIRO, IF YOU SURVIVE THIS ONE, I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!"

Nasami was not the only one watching Katsushiro's flight on the back of the bolt. At the edge of the forest, Heihachi also saw Katsushiro's reckless act and shook his head. "Unbelievable... that's as sloppy as it gets." But it only took the engineer a matter of seconds to realize the implications of what Katsushiro was doing, and he pulled down the lid of the Yakan and accelerated after the young samurai.

"He's not going to make it!" Gozaku cried anxiously as he and the other villagers watched the bolt's flight across the canyon, and Okara looked at them all as if they were all complete idiots for missing the obvious.

"That's what sets him apart from the rest," she said cheerfully. "He has no idea what he's doing."

On the bolt, the same thought had suddenly occurred to Katsushiro. With his weight on the wood, the bolt would not be able to rotate fast enough to maintain the speed necessary for its flight, and would end up falling short of the Capital's deck. While he might take out a few of the bandits when the bolt came down, its momentum would not be sufficient to reach the Capital itself.

"Can't give up," he whispered. "But I've got to jump!" All he could do now was pray that he'd be able to reach the deck of the airship on his own. With that, he wrenched his katana free, but just as he sprang from the bolt, several bandits opened fire on him, blowing the beam out from underneath him and sending him careening toward the ground in an uncontrolled freefall...

... only to be snatched up by Heihachi in the Yakan combat shell.

"_This_ is why I wanted you to come with me," he chided, and once Katsushiro got his breath back, he realized who it was.

"Heihachi-_dono_!"

"You do realize that Nasami-_dono_ is going to kill you for pulling a stunt like that," the mechanic said cheerfully, and Katsushiro turned away in a huff until he heard Heihachi continue, "Of course, knowing Nasami, she would probably have done something similar. Just better planned."

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," Katsushiro grumbled, and Heihachi laughed at him.

* * *

On the deck of the Capital, Kyuzo saw the approach of Heihachi and Katsushiro at the same time that he noticed several bandits break off from the main force to block their approach. Leaping from the deck in a single fluid motion, he moved from Nobuseri to Nobuseri, scything through them in a trail of death. With each kill, he moved closer and closer to the two other samurai, clearing a path for them through the bandits that remained between them and the Capital while splitting the bandits' forces in two and throwing them into chaos. On the one hand, they had been ordered to take the villagers of Kanna prisoner, but on the other hand, they could not ignore the samurai in their midst who was decimating their ranks from the inside out. 

Several of the villagers were watching the battle surrounding the Capital, but with trepidation and anxiety.

"They're getting closer!" Gozaku said, his voice trembling as he watched through the binoculars Nasami had lent him, but the Elder's firm voice cut him off.

"Stand your ground, men."

Gozaku and several of the others turned toward the Elder, but the old man never once took his eyes off Nasami where she was constantly moving back and forth at the front lines of the fighting, shouting at the peasants to continue firing, bolstering their flagging morale even while taking out one Nobuseri after another.

"I assure you the bandits will not reach the village. They will be stopped by the samurai."

* * *

On the ground, Nasami was watching Kyuzo's attacks with mingled admiration and envy. And although she would never admit it to anyone, including herself, mixed in with those feelings was a painful rush of memory when she herself had been able to perform such feats of skill... and when she had fought at the side of another who was even better than she. But as she watched several of the bandits break ranks and start converging on the samurai, she realized in horror that they were planning to ambush him.

"No!" she gasped, and with a last flurry of orders to the peasants to keep firing at the bandits, the samuraiko began to run.

* * *

Racing toward the Capital, Heihachi and Katsushiro were watching Kyuzo's heroics with amazement, and Heihachi increased his speed to send them zooming up toward the underside of the Capital where the engine room lay. 

"All right, Katsushiro, hang on tight!" he shouted, and with a few quick evasions around the last of the bandits, they came to a skidding halt in the lower observation gallery, just above the engines.

But as Katsushiro turned around to get his bearings, he saw several of the bandits move away from the Capital to bring their weapons around on Kyuzo, who was now making his way back up toward the main deck. As they opened fire, the red-clad assassin landed on the ground to escape their blasts, but one of the other bandits anticipated his response and fired directly at him.

And Kyuzo had barely enough time to register the attack before he disappeared in an explosion of smoke and fire.

Katsushiro watched in horrified disbelief, his heart stopping his chest, then he threw his head back and screamed in rage.

"KYUZO-_DONO_!"

Heihachi was in the middle of clambering out of the Yakan when he heard the younger samurai's cry of grief and fury, but he paused for only a moment before collecting the materials needed to fulfill his mission.

"My God..." Katsushiro whispered, eyes closed to shut out the sight of the crater in the ground where the assassin had been standing. "They got Kyuzo..."

"This is war, get used to it," Heihachi snapped, and Katsushiro's eyes opened in shock. "We don't have time to mourn him. _My_ job is to separate the main engines from the rest of the hull, and I need _your_ help to do it." Then his tone brightened, and he held up several explosive cartridges. "But check out what the Guardians gave me! This should be fun!" With his other hand, he hefted the crossbow that Masamune had forged him. "And from Masamune, fires any-"

His cheerful words were cut off by gunfire as several of the mechanical guards arrived, having witnessed the Yakan's approach from the main deck. Immediately, Heihachi and Katsushiro ducked behind the Yakan to escape the shots being fired at them, but when a couple of the guards got too close, Katsushiro cut them down.

"You stay focused on your mission," he said resolutely, lifting the katana to a defensive stance. "I'll take care of the guards."

* * *

Kyuzo opened his eyes and quickly glanced around him, his mind taking stock of his surroundings. He was lying in a trench, covered in blood, his right arm feeling numb, countless cuts and abrasions covering his body. 

But he was alive.

Then he became aware of a weight pressing him down into the earth, and ignoring the painful protests of his body, he lifted his head and saw Nasami lying on top of him, breathing hard as though she had run miles. And as foolish as the idea was, he was oddly gratified to know that he had been right, and Kambei wrong, about the samuraiko having survived being captured.

As though aware of his gaze, she raised her head and shook it to clear her vision, and then she looked at him, a crooked grin lighting up her face. "I'm thinking we're even now, wouldn't you say?"

"So you're still alive," he said as she rolled off of him to lie on her back, pulling air into her lungs with a relieved sigh.

"Yeah, for now. Although truth be told, I've been better." She ran her hands over her face, leaving it even dirtier than before, then she got weakly to her feet. But as she turned to help him up, her eyes went to his right arm, and her breath hissed through her teeth in horror. "Kyuzo-_sama_... your arm..."

He shrugged, but then immediately regretted it as it sent a wave of fire down his arm and he bit back a cry of pain. Nasami crouched down behind him, bracing her arm across his shoulders to help him sit up. For once, he didn't pull away from her, but welcomed the help.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it," she said quietly, not looking at him, her eyes instead on his injuries. "Like I said, we're even now." Her face grim, the samuraiko began tearing strips of cloth from her own leggings and started binding the wounds on his arm. But Kyuzo stopped her by putting his left hand over the injury on his right arm, and she looked up at him in confusion.

"What's wrong?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"Don't bother."

"Don't be an idiot, Kyuzo-_sama_," she snapped at him. "Stop being stubborn and just let me-"

"I can't feel my hand." Her voice died in mid-protest as her dark blue eyes went wide and dropped to his right hand, covered in blood where it had trickled down his arm. She let the bandages fall into her lap and began pulling away the remnants of his sleeve, but one glance told her that the other samurai was right - the damage to his right arm was irreparable. Not even surgery would be able to save the limb, and her eyes filled with tears.

"No..." she whispered, gently laying her small hands on his arm, but then she felt Kyuzo's left hand resting on her own, and her eyes flashed up to meet his.

"Save your strength, you'll need it yourself." At the startled expression on her face, Kyuzo knew he'd been right in suspecting that she would have once again requested the blessing of Amaterasu and surrendered her strength to him so that he could continue fighting.

"But you're injured, and I'm in better shape than you are right now," she argued. "They need you up there, Kyuzo."

"And they need you down here," he replied quietly, not moving his hand away. "You're the only one left to defend Kanna." Moving slowly, he got to his feet with Nasami's help, ignoring the twinges of pain that shot through him. His eyes were on the crater a few feet away where the shot had blown a hole in the ground. Nasami had dived directly at him just before the explosion and together they had rolled into one of the trenches left behind by an earlier stray blast. Then he turned to face her, his eyes taking in the blood and dirt on her face, the exhaustion and pain in her eyes.

Since the first time they had met, outside the Village of Respite, he had wondered at the strength of this woman, wondered how far she would go before giving in, if ever.

Wondered why Kambei had ever believed that Nasami was dead.

Wondered at what might have been, had things been different.

Self-conscious beneath his stare, she lowered her eyes to the ground, and Kyuzo abruptly realized that there was no more time for wondering.

"I need your help," he said at last, looking away and searching the battlefield. "I must return to the Capital."

Knowing better than to argue with him, although very much curious at to what he had been thinking just now, Nasami nodded, her eyes sweeping across the battlefield as well. "Unfortunately, Heihachi's already gone with that Yakan shell of his. Unless..." Her gaze rested on another Zankanto that one of the bandits had dropped earlier. She turned to face him, and saw that he was thinking the same thing. "Can you fly one of these things?"

He nodded.

"Good, let's go." She strode over to the swordship and clambered up toward the cockpit. "You stay down there for a few minutes, get your breath back while I check her out. I'm hardly the mechanic that Heihachi is, so I can't make any promises on how well she'll fly, but hell, you could always just slam this thing into the underside of the Capital."

Wearily, he leaned against the hull of the ship, watching the Capital as it continued its approach toward Kanna. Then he looked up at the samuraiko.

"Why?"

"Why what?" she called back as she tested the controls.

"Why did you leave Kanna to help me?"

Her hands went still, and for a long moment, she didn't answer him. Then a shadow fell across her, and she realized that Kyuzo had climbed up onto the Zankanto and was sitting beside the cockpit, looking in at her.

"I..." She sighed. "I couldn't just stand aside and do nothing and watch someone else die... not when I had a chance to save him. Not again."

"Because you couldn't save Kuroshin?" he asked her quietly, and Nasami's face went pale, but she nodded, and went back to her work.

"I wasn't aware that you knew," she said, her voice low.

"I knew," was all he said.

"Back in Kanna..." she said at last. "The night before the bandits attacked, you said... do you really think that Kuroshin would be proud of me?" Her eyes met his, and the fair-haired samurai could see how much his answer meant to her.

"Yes," he said simply and without hesitation, and she nodded to herself and went back to her work. She made a few quick adjustments, and the engines began to hum.

"There," she said in satisfaction, pulling herself out of the cockpit to stand beside Kyuzo on the hull. "Unfortunately, the maneuverability is shot to hell, and with only one hand, you won't really be able to steer worth a damn anyway. But she'll fly."

"Thank you," he said quietly, but he didn't move from where he stood. Instead, he stood beside the samuraiko and just stared down at her. But then he gave her the shock of her life by lifting his left hand and gently touching her cheek, then he moved his hand to let the strands of her hair slide through his fingers. In astonishment, she turned to him, but before she could speak, he placed his fingers over her lips.

"Kambei thinks you're dead," he murmured. "When I see him again, I will let him know that you still live."

With that, he swung himself into the cockpit and fully started up the engines.

"Kyuzo!" she shouted over the sudden roar, and he looked up at her. She started to speak, but then closed her mouth again and settled for kneeling beside the cockpit, holding out one hand to him. He lifted his left hand and clasped her hand in his. Neither spoke, but a world of understanding seemed to pass between the two of them. Then Nasami leapt down from the hull and watched as the Zankanto lifted from the ground and raced toward the Capital.

"Good luck, my friend," she whispered.

_To be continued_...


	49. Do Not Go Gently

_Note: This was by far the_ **hardest** _chapter of them all to write. I had to keep getting up from the computer and walking away to clear my mind, then come back and keep writing. I was shaking, sweating, my hands hurt, my heart was pounding, but I wrote it. And when I was done, I went back and re-read it... and freaked out all over again. Then I went into my bedroom, curled up on my bed, and just lay there, staring into the dark._

_It's only fitting the longest chapter has the longest track of music. I owe the music for "Do Not Go Gently" to John. After all, he was the one who introduced me to the inspiration for this chapter... For anyone who has ever watched BABYLON 5, the piece "Z'ha'dum" was everything I could have hoped for while writing this chapter, and more. Christopher Franke's superlative scoring just grabs you by the throat and does not let go. I can only hope that I conveyed some of that quality in this chapter..._

_(For maximum impact, try to start the third section - _"The guards immediately began firing" - _just as the music hits 5:13, and the last section of the chapter - _"Nasami stared at the Capital" _- just as the music hits 10:25.)_

**

* * *

**

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Forty-Nine_

Up in the gallery above the main engine room, Katsushiro was fighting a wearying battle against a seemingly endless stream of guards while Heihachi made his way back and forth across the gallery, mining the floor with explosives. The young samurai turned to look over his shoulder after cutting down yet another guard. "Heihachi-_dono_, are you ready?"

"Just hold them off a little bit longer..." the mechanic shouted back as he looped another strand of the explosives around a support pillar, but while Katsushiro's back was turned, one of the guards opened fire with a machine gun straight at Heihachi's back. In a flash, Katsushiro whirled around and decapitated the guard, but as he looked over at Heihachi, he could see that the woodcutter was moving with ominous slowness.

And leaving a trail of blood along the floor.

Heihachi, however, refused to give in to the pain and the fogginess that was clouding his vision. Forcing his body one step at a time, he continued to lay the explosives out in a spread that would maximize the blast, ensuring that the entire engine subsection would be blasted clear of the main airship. "If I get out of here alive, I'm gonna eat so much rice..." he whispered, already imagining the taste of an entire bushel of Kanna rice all for himself. Prepared just so, left to simmer, the perfect sweet aftertaste...

"Heihachi-_dono_!" Katsushiro's yell of concern was abruptly drowned out by the unexpected arrival of a Nobuseri drone, who came sweeping into the gallery between Heihachi and Katsushiro.

"Trespassers!" he bellowed, drawing back his sword to attack the seemingly-defenseless samurai making his way across the gallery, but the bandit got a rude surprise when Heihachi pulled out the crossbow and blasted his arm off with a series of well-aimed explosive charges fired straight into the joint of his shoulder.

The force of the explosion, however, was enough to make him release his sword, the momentum sending the weapon sliding across the gallery floor straight into Heihachi and slamming him against one of the support pillars with such force that the pillar cracked.

"I'll get you out!" Katsushiro shouted, but another guard slashed at his back, and he was forced to turn and keep fighting. "Just hold on!"

"There's no time!" Heihachi called weakly, trying in vain to pull himself out from where he was trapped between the pillar and the sword. No matter how he struggled, he could not get free, so he finally managed to slide his arm down into his pocket and pull forth the trigger that would remotely detonate all the explosives he had laid out along the gallery. "GO!"

Katsushiro stared down at him in horror, unwilling to leave the mechanic behind to die, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that there was no way that even the two of them could shift the huge Zankanto so Heihachi could get free. "There has to be some other way!" he cried, taking an unconscious step down the stairs into the gallery.

"I knew what I was getting into here..." Heihachi said, a faint smile coming to his face.

_"Hey, we are the rice kami! Gotta protect it, too!"_

He'd lived for rice, fought for rice, bled for rice, even killed for rice. Dying for it wasn't really such a bad thing, now that he thought about it, and with that, he pressed the trigger.

The entire gallery exploded, and the shockwave lifted Katsushiro and flung him back up the stairs and into the railing, which he only barely managed to grab before plummeting toward the floor. The detonation caused the ceiling and pillars to give way, collapsing most of the gallery down into the engine room, burying the engines in tons of debris, and eventually the weight forced the whole engine room subsection to fall free of the main ship.

"Heihachi-_dono_..." Katsushiro groaned, watching the floor of the airship fall away, Heihachi's body trapped beneath the Zankanto, but amazingly, the woodcutter smiled and pulled his cap from his head, tossing it defiantly to the winds as his hair blew around his face.

"I'LL BE IN THE RICE!" Heihachi cried out as the engine room, the gallery, and all of the wreckage crashed down into the fields, sending up wave after wave of dust and smoke, but the explosion was still not loud enough to drown out Katsushiro's scream of horror and grief.

"HEIHACHI-_DONO_!"

* * *

While all of this had been going on, Kambei, Shichiroji, and Kikuchiyo had split up to search the Capital for Ukyo. Kambei had not been surprised in the least when he'd infiltrated the inner chambers and found the Emperor cowering behind his courtesans, shaking and quivering in a state of near-panic. Grimly he marched the trembling young man to the main audience chamber, where he had agreed to meet the other two, then settled in to wait. 

"Hey, Kambei... I think we have a problem," came Shichiroji's voice, and Kambei turned around to see Shichiroji emerge from behind the throne... dragging the Emperor with him.

"Hey, look what I found!" Kikuchiyo announced a moment later, striding into the audience chamber, and the two other samurai saw that Kikuchiyo was carrying the Emperor trussed up and hanging from his katana like a sack.

"Wha...?" Kikuchiyo stared at the other two young men that Shichiroji and Kambei had brought with them in patent disbelief. "What's going on?"

"They're body doubles," Shichiroji said in disgust, herding the three Emperors into a group on the floor.

"Or clones," Kambei murmured, remembering what Mizuki had told him during his period of captivity in the Capital.

"It's certainly possible," Shichiroji admitted, glancing at the other samurai. "I recall Ayamoro saying something about the Emperor sending clones to surrounding villages."

"Well, that's great!" Kikuchiyo shouted in frustration. "I say we just kill them all, that'll solve it!" With that, he levelled his giant katana at the three clones, who panicked and tried to scramble away.

"Kikuchiyo!" Kambei scolded, but Shichiroji just smirked and shot Kambei a sidelong glance.

"He's been hanging around _you_ too long..."

Kambei glared at him, but abruptly Kikuchiyo was kneeling down beside the clones, sniffing at the air around them. Then he grabbed one by the wrist and hauled him up, sniffing at him, then dropping him dismissively. "He's nothing but a common farmer. He was working in the fields no more than three days ago, I can tell by his smell!" He checked the other two and discovered the same thing, and when they realized that the clones couldn't tell them anything useful, Kambei dismissed them.

... only to have them cut down after taking less than a dozen steps, and the three samurai whirled around to see Tessai standing there, sword drawn and the bodies of the clones at his feet.

"Who would have thought their poor bathing habits would expose our little ruse?" he murmured, stepping over the bodies to advance slowly on the samurai.

"Who do you think you are?" Kikuchiyo raged. "They were just farmers! You had no right to do that!"

Shichiroji and Kambei knew better, however, and they knew that Kikuchiyo did as well. There was _one_ group who did have the authority to kill peasants at will.

"Are you... samurai?" Kambei asked quietly, and Tessai shrugged.

"Once, long ago. But now I serve the Amanushi as his guardian and protector."

"He's gonna need a lot more than you to protect him now!" Kikuchiyo bellowed, charging, but faster than any of them would have given him credit for, Tessai swung his sword and sliced Kikuchiyo's arm off at the elbow, sending his forearm and his sword flying.

Kambei and Shichiroji attacked as well, but Tessai dodged Kambei's blade to come up behind Shichiroji while the blond samurai had his naginata in the air, preparing to swing, then shoved his saya up beneath the younger man's chin, poised to smash his throat.

"Move and he's dead," Tessai hissed, and Kambei and Kikuchiyo stopped. "I'd hate to have to scatter the body parts of such skilled warriors."

"You were never a samurai, you couldn't have been!" Kikuchiyo spat in disgust, unknowningly echoing Nasami's own sentiments on Tessai from weeks earlier when she and Gorobei had been spying on Ayamoro. "You're just an overfed lapdog! A samurai would _never_ serve a coward like Ukyo?"

"Why not? A samurai's duty is to serve his master, regardless of the kind of man he is... just like that samuraiko that once travelled with you!"

"What?" Kikuchiyo was startled, staring at Tessai, momentarily distracted.

Tessai's gaze went to Kambei, whose face had gone as white as his robes. The samurai was shaking his head in denial, hardly able to breathe.

"If you're going to condemn a samurai for serving someone like the Emperor, then I suggest you start with her. Like myself, she places her loyalty to the Emperor above all... even when ordered by the Amanushi to bring back _your _head."

"You're lying," Kambei whispered.

"It appears that you have forgotten that, living as ronin for so long. Samurai exist only to serve, and I serve my master well!"

Shichiroji, however, took advantage of the distraction to slam his head backward, knocking Tessai off balance, then lunging out of the way. But the samurai's advantage was fleeting, for a moment later a dozen guards arrived and opened fire. Kambei tried unsuccessfully to dodge the incoming gunfire, and shouting in fury, Shichiroji lunged forward to defend him, ignoring the shots to sweep his naginata around and haul up some of the deck plating for defense.

Kikuchiyo charged at the guards to try and distract them, but all of them concentrated their fire on him, eventually dropping the machine samurai in his tracks.

"KIKUCHIYO!" Kambei shouted, but that only brought the guards' attention back to him and Shichiroji, and they were forced to duck down once again.

Tessai held up one hand to stop the guards. "Gentlemen, you are all true samurai. You may be the last great men of honor left in this world, and for that, I envy you. Therefore I will allow you one final honor - death at the blade of my sword."

But as he took a single step toward Kambei and Shichiroji, the entire room began to vibrate, and then the floor exploded beneath them. In absolute astonishment, Tessai, Kambei, Shichiroji, Kikuchiyo, and the guards watched as the edge of a Zankanto swordship carved its way through the hull into the main audience chamber, with Kyuzo in the cockpit, his eyes on Tessai.

"Kyuzo-_dono_!" Kambei said in amazement.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Tessai gasped, staring up at his former subordinate in profound disbelief. The guards opened fire on the cockpit, but Kyuzo was already out of the ship and moving, one sword held in his good left hand, which he promptly buried in Tessai's ribcage as he landed beside him.

"I alone will have the honor of his death," the fair-haired assassin hissed, and Tessai gave one last shudder, dead before he even hit the floor.

* * *

The guards immediately began firing again, but the samurai were moving, disarming them or killing them outright as they advanced back across the chamber. A loud war cry made Kambei and the others look up, and they saw Katsushiro charging into the room, yelling in fury as he swept in among the guards. 

Kambei glanced back at Kyuzo, abruptly realizing what was wrong. The other samurai was only wielding one sword, while his right arm hung slackly down at his side.

"Kyuzo, your arm! You've been injured!" Kambei said in alarm, but Kyuzo shrugged.

"I still have use of the left." And as though proving that point, he went on the attack once more.

Katsushiro attacked another of the guards, but taking better aim than his companions, the guard aimed his fire not at the young samurai, but at his blade, and the gunfire shattered the sword in two. Then he knocked Katsushiro off his feet and took aim at him before Katsushiro could recover.

"KATSUSHIRO!" Kambei shouted, hurling his own katana and burying it between the guard's shoulderblades, dropping him to the floor. His gun clattered to land beside Katsushiro, but Katsushiro barely noticed it when his attention was caught by another guard lifting his machine pistol to take point-blank aim at Kambei's back. Instinctively Kambei sensed the danger he was in, but now that he was weaponless, all he could do was turn to look behind him in horror as the guard's finger tightened on the trigger.

Katsushiro's hands seemed to move of their own volition, snatching up the machine gun the guard had dropped earlier, swinging it around, and firing wildly, yelling in incoherent rage as he emptied the clip into the guard before he could fire on Kambei. The hail of bullets tore through the mechanical guard's torso with relentless precision...

... and into Kyuzo, who was standing directly behind him.

The guard gave a choked gasp and collapsed to the floor, and Katsushiro nearly vomited at the sight of Kyuzo standing behind where the guard had been, his eyes wide in horror, blood trickling from his mouth even as it streamed from the numerous gunshot wounds on his body.

"Kyuzo-_dono_!" Katsushiro shrieked.

Kyuzo tried to speak, not even certain what he was going to say. Then his eyes drifted shut and he collapsed to the floor.

Kambei caught him as he fell, his face pale, unable to believe what he was seeing. "Kyuzo-_dono_!" he called out to him, but as his eyes swept over Kyuzo's body, his heart sank within him. There was no way that the fair-haired samurai had more than a few moments of life left in him, and with each beat of his heart, his life was draining away.

Katsushiro was still kneeling on the floor, his hands trembling so badly that the gun was rattling in his grasp, then he flung it away from him in horror, cowering.

"Come on, stay with me," Kambei urged, even as he felt the blood flowing across his arm where it supported Kyuzo's shoulders. 

"Go on... you still have a job to finish," Kyuzo said weakly, opening his eyes and staring up at the other samurai, even as they gathered around him in horror.

Kambei bowed his head, and Kyuzo's eyes narrowed when he saw the weariness and despair on Kambei's face. Although he could feel his life fading, he summoned the strength to speak.

"You cannot... give up now. Nasami is... still alive."

"What? How do you-?" Kikuchiyo asked, moving closer, but Kambei cut him off.

"Where is she?"

"In Kanna... She escaped from the Capital... and was helping him... protect the peasants." His eyes went to Katsushiro, who was still in shock. "Then she saved my life... and helped me return here."

He turned his eyes to Kambei and met the other's gaze directly.

"I know... you love her. She deserves the truth..." Kambei's eyes widened, but Kyuzo did not look away, his eyes intense even as he lay dying in Kambei's arms. "Take care of her..."

Finally, Kambei nodded.

"I will... you have my word."

Kyuzo's mouth quirked into a faint and sardonic smile. "But... do not forget... we still have a... score to settle..."

"I will never forget," Kambei whispered.

"I'll be waiting... in Kanna..."

And with that, the light left Kyuzo's eyes forever.

For a moment, Kambei stared down at the other man, wishing with all of his heart that they could have traded places, but there was no time for regrets. He brought his other hand to his mouth and yanked his glove off with his teeth, then gently closed Kyuzo's eyes and laid him down on the floor.

"Soon, my friend, I will follow the same path."

"What have I done? _What have I done?_" Katsushiro was shaking so hard that he could hardly speak, tears in his eyes and his hands trembling.

"I'm glad you've come back," Kambei said quietly, his voice sincere.

The younger samurai looked up at him, appalled. "_Why_? I killed Kyuzo-_dono_ with my own two hands!"

"In order to save _me_."

"But how am I supposed to live with myself, knowing I've done this?" Katsushiro fell forward onto his hands and knees, his whole body shaking. "I took his life, so I should give mine."

"It's not a matter of _who_ dies..." Kambei reminded him. "... but who dies _first_." Katsushiro stared up at him in shock, but Kambei went on. "I need you to keep living, Katsushiro, until this job's done."

Shichiroji picked up one of the guards' katanas, then came over to stand beside Katsushiro, who was still staring numbly at Kyuzo. "How did you get here?" he asked, and Katsushiro blinked, then focused his gaze on him.

"Heihachi came and got me."

"And where is Heihachi now?" Shichiroji, like everyone else on board, had felt the rumbling and explosion when the engines had gone, and he prayed that somehow the woodcutter had survived his mission.

But his prayers were not to be answered, for Katsushiro looked away once more, his eyes closed tight against the memory of Heihachi's body, falling away toward the ground. "He... didn't make it. He... went down with the main engines."

"What do you mean, 'he didn't make it?'" Kikuchiyo said in horrified disbelief. "You mean _he's_ dead, too? This can't be happening!" His voice broke and he barely managed to choke back a sob for the young man who had accepted him as a samurai since the beginning.

"This is war," Kambei said with finality. "None of us should expect to live to see the sunset." But then Kambei looked down at the young samurai, who was still staring at Kyuzo's body in guilt and sorrow.

"But... did Kyuzo speak the truth, Katsushiro? Is Nasami still alive?"

The young samurai nodded, grateful that he could be the bearer of at least some good news, no matter how small. "Yes..."

Kambei looked down at the body of the fair-haired assassin. "You were right... damn you, Kyuzo, you were right. But I _will_ tell her. I swear it."

The change in Kambei's eyes was almost frightening as he looked back at the others. "Now which of us is going to take Ukyo's head?"

* * *

In Kanna Village, the villagers were doing everything they could to stop the Capital's approach, but they could barely slow it down, let alone stop it entirely. Once she'd established that the bandits were no longer attacking now that communications to the Capital were down, she'd ordered every last farmer to grab the heavy artillery and bring it to the near side of the canyon. She then had them fire salvo after salvo in a desperate attempt to break the Capital's inertia or at least break up the airship enough to scatter it, but all to no avail. 

"Nothing's working, the Capital won't stop!" Manzo wailed, even as he fired again.

"There's got to be _some_ way to slow it down," Gozaku gasped, helping Yohei reload one of the heavier cannons they'd taken off the bandits. "It's going to wipe out our entire village!"

"I won't let that happen!" Nasami shouted, her voice barely audible over the gunfire. The peasants paused to glance over at her where she was standing on top of the stone wall, sighting firing distances and bellowing orders to the villagers. "As Amaterasu as my witness, that Capital is _not_ crossing the ravine, not as long as even one of us samurai still lives!"

For a moment, none of the peasants spoke, but then the Elder turned to look at them. "What are you all doing? Do you intend to let her down, or will we continue to fight?" he called in his raspy voice.

With ragged yells of determination, the peasants redoubled their efforts.

* * *

Ukyo, however, got a rude shock when he, the Imperial Minister, and their entourage of guards entered the hangar with the escape ship, only to find the ship in ruins, and Katsushiro, Shichiroji, and Kikuchiyo waiting in ambush. The samurai made fast work of the Imperial Minister and the guards, but Kikuchiyo advanced on Ukyo with his sword pointed directly at the young Emperor. Then he sniffed the air around Ukyo, and stepped back in satisfaction. "Oh yeah, smells pretty girly!" 

"If he smells like court ladies, he must be real! They wouldn't waste perfume on a fake," Shichiroji said calmly, his naginata in his hand.

Ukyo tried desperately to convince them that he was also a farmer, first with grovelling, then with pleading, then logic, but Kikuchiyo wasn't buying it.

"Kambei taught me a long time ago... when samurai raise their swords, they don't hesitate to bring them down!" And he brought his giant katana straight down at Ukyo, who howled in terror and cowered against the bulkhead, but just at that instant, the Capital gave a violent shudder, throwing off the big machine samurai's aim just enough to miss Ukyo, who dove out of the way and snatched up one of the guards' machine pistols. With a shriek, he fired at Kikuchiyo again and again, while the guards took the attack as their cue to start shooting at the samurai, wounding both Katsushiro and Shichiroji. Ukyo emptied the clip into Kikuchiyo, then began slamming the gun into Kikuchiyo's faceplate again and again, screaming in fury.

"I _hate_ machine samurai! I hate them, I hate them, I hate them! Treating me like a filthy insect! And the old Emperor, I hate him, too! Making me a _peasant_ to be bullied by you machines! All for his _stupid_ plan I never asked to be a part of! Merchants, peasants, samurai, machines, I hate you _all_! I'll turn this world upside down, treat you all like _bugs_!" Finally his rage wound down, and he tossed his long hair back and turned to face his guards, who had Katsushiro and Shichiroji trapped on the floor.

"Anyway, we should be going," he said calmly, and ordered one of the guards to summon some of the Nobuseri drones to carry them to safety. With that, he picked up a pistol with a fresh clip, planted his heel on Katsushiro's throat, and pointing the muzzle at his face.

"Tell me where Kambei is," he said, his voice quiet yet menacing.

"I don't know," Katsushiro gasped, but Ukyo's eyes narrowed.

"Huh... is that so?" Without a word, he turned, walked over to Shichiroji, and ground his foot into the gunshot wound the blond samurai had taken in his leg, and Shichiroji howled in pain.

"STOP!" Katsushiro yelled, but Ukyo and the guards fired a quick blast at him and he barely managed to roll aside.

"I won't ask again."

Just then, the outer doors of the hangar began to open so that the Nobuseri could enter and lift the escape ship free, but Ukyo ignored the bandits waiting outside to keep his gun trained on Katsushiro.

"Your Excellency, please board the escape ship!" one of the guards reminded him.

"By the way, how is my Kirara?" Ukyo asked as an afterthought. "Considering the Capital here is going to wipe out her entire village, I need to know where she is so I can rescue her."

Katsushiro's eyes were not on Ukyo, however, but on the doors of the docking bay, and he smirked. Puzzled, Ukyo wondered what exactly Katsushiro was laughing at, and he turned to look back over his shoulder...

... to see Kambei standing in the door of the docking bay, a sword in each hand, blood on his clothes, and murder in his eyes.

Ukyo let out a scream of absolute terror.

In that moment of distraction, Shichiroji and Katsushiro were on their feet, scything through Ukyo's guards so that the only ones left to protect him were outside the docking bay, unable to get in past the samurai.

Katsushiro nodded a greeting to Kambei, who was looking over at the other three samurai to make sure they were all right. "_Sensei_, the bandits are mine."

Kambei nodded in agreement, then lifted one katana and slowly began to advance on Ukyo.

"W-wait, it was the former Emperor who made deals with the Nobuseri, stealing rice and women! I wasn't even here!" he yelped, backing away in terror.

"But _you_ are the Emperor now, Ukyo," Kambei said, his voice low and filled with menace, continuing to walk toward the Emperor.

"No, it was him, the prime minister, _he_ was the one in control!" Ukyo protested, continuing to back away. "He came to me in Kougakyo, said he needed someone killed, and if I helped him, he'd let me make the world better! But he tricked me! I just wanted to give everyone's lives more pleasure! But he said sacrifices had to be made! He said we _had_ to destroy Kanna! I didn't _want_ to!"

"But you _did_ want me dead," Kambei reminded him, never stopping his advance. "_You_ ordered my execution, ordered Nasami's assassination, and _then_ took advantage of her honor to try and destroy us both! For that reason alone, _I'll kill you_ _where you stand_!"

"You can't kill an Emperor! You'll be a traitor to your people!"

"_So be it_," Kambei hissed, and realizing that nothing he said or did would dissuade the samurai from his goal, Ukyo panicked and began firing. But Kambei deflected away each shot as he charged, and with one vicious stroke, cut Ukyo down.

"Katsushiro, take care of the rest of the Nobuseri!" he ordered.

Katsushiro went after the bandits, taking them apart one after another, while Shichiroji ran to help Kambei.

"Kambei-_sama_, you're hurt pretty bad," he said in concern, but Kambei waved him away.

"Don't worry about me... we have to stop the Capital from crossing the ravine!"

He got no farther before Ukyo managed to sit up, holding in his guts with one hand and a machine gun in the other. But as he opened fire, Kikuchiyo dove at him, and together they rolled one over the other and right over the side of the deck toward the ground below.

While Ukyo was caught by one of the Nobuseri as he fell, Kikuchiyo landed with a crash directly on top of the transport that Rikichi had been steering toward Kanna, scaring the life out of the four peasants. Komachi cried out when she saw the state her intended husband was in, but there was no time for panicking, for Ukyo landed on the deck of the transport beside them. Kikuchiyo, however, wasn't done flattening him yet, and knocked the young man over the side with one massive mechanical fist as Rikichi got them out of there as fast as he could, not stopping until they reached the bridge leading into Kanna.

"Kikuchiyo!" Kirara cried in horror as she got her first good look at Kikuchiyo's injuries, while Komachi barely could hold back tears.

"Kiku, you're hurt!" But Kikuchiyo waved her away.

"There's no time... for pain now! We've got to... stop that thing!"

"Rikichi!" Sanae called out, and the farmer, the two girls, and Kikuchiyo looked where she was pointing. "Who is that?"

Standing on the far side of the Kanna bridge was a lone figure, sword in hand, breathing hard and standing amid a wreckage of Nobuseri. The figure raised its sword in challenge, but Kirara gave a joyful cry of recognition.

"Nasami-_sama_!" she cried out in relief. "Thank the water spirits, you're alive!"

The samuraiko approached and vaulted up into the transport, staring in horror at Kikuchiyo. "Blessed Amaterasu," she gasped. "Kikuchiyo, what the-"

"I'm going to kill... that little bastard..." the big machine samurai gasped. Then he weakly sat up with Komachi and Sanae's help. "Nasami... we have to stop the Capital..."

"I know," she said grimly, watching it as it slid toward them. "The speed of its inertia is such that it can cross the canyon and destroy Kanna completely. The villagers are doing everything they can to shoot it down, but we've had no luck."

"Well, now there's... two of us," he said defiantly, tapping into power cells that were strictly for emergency, and wishing with all his heart that Masamune were there for some last-second jury-rigging. "Rikichi... take us right in front of the Capital."

"What?" the young farmer said in disbelief.

"Just do it, Rikichi," Nasami said quietly, her eyes on Kikuchiyo.

"Yes, great samurai," he whispered, and he steered the transport back away from the canyon until it was directly in the path of the Capital, and a good distance away from the bridge.

Nasami leapt over the side, and Kikuchiyo jumped down after her.

"Now get out of here!" he ordered them, and Komachi waved from the deck of the transport.

"You can do it, Kiku! I _know_ it!"

"You're the greatest, sprout!"

"Please be careful, you two!" Kirara called out, and Rikichi gunned the engines on the transport.

"You can count on us," Kikuchiyo said quietly, turning to Nasami, and together they stood watching the inexorable approach of the Capital.

"I'm going to turn the Capital away from Kanna Village, divert it even a bit off course!" Kikuchiyo shouted.

"Great idea! How do you plan to do that?" she shouted back.

Kikuchiyo walked over to a discarded Zankanto and lifted it into a defensive position.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" she screamed.

"When a samurai says something, he makes damned sure he follows through!" He looked back over his shoulder at her. "_You_ taught me that, remember? And I'm a samurai, damn it! And I'm saying that airship is _not_ making it to Kanna, no matter what!"

"But, Kikuchiyo-"

"Go on, get out of here! I'll slow it down and divert it, buy you some time, but you'll have to find a way to stop it once and for all! And if you have any other miracles you can produce, I'm counting on you to pull them off!"

Nasami could only shake her head, staring at the big machine samurai.

"Go on, damn you! And you tell Komachi that I love her, okay? Promise me that!"

"I promise," she whispered.

"Now get out of here! We're running out of time!" When Nasami still hesitated, he turned to her and bellowed, "_GO_!"

Nasami turned and ran.

Kikuchiyo watched her go, a grim pride filling him.

"Kambei, you bastard!" he shouted toward the sky, turning back to the Capital. "You'd better make it, and marry that woman!"

With that, he started up the Zankanto's engines, and stared defiantly at the approaching airship.

Howling in fury, he braced the Zankanto against the ground and took the full brunt of the Capital against the swordship, but he refused to yield. His body sparked as system after system began to short out, his whole frame began to tremble, smoke poured from his joints, but he still didn't go down.

"You're _not_ making it to Kanna, you Capital piece of crap! You've got a full-fledged samurai making sure of it!"

* * *

Nasami stared at the Capital as it slid relentlessly toward the ravine, her hands clutching the pommel of _Mamorimasu_ so tightly that her fingers felt as though they were going numb. 

Behind her, she was dimly aware that all of the peasants, every single one of them, were lined up along the rock wall, watching Kikuchiyo lift the swordship to stop the Capital, watching her standing there just on the other side of the bridge, watching and praying for a miracle.

As was Nasami herself.

As she watched, praying with all of her strength, Kikuchiyo slowly diverted the airship away from its dead-on course toward Kanna.

Directly toward her.

"He did it," she said softly, tears streaming down her face. "He really did it... Kikuchiyo... oh, God..."

Closing her eyes, Nasami took a deep breath and lifted the katana so that its blade rested against her cheek.

"Blessed Amaterasu... my life does not matter. But if ever I deserved your blessing, I implore you now... help me save them."

As if in response, a single shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds so that she was standing in a sunbeam, and oddly enough in that moment, a poem came to mind, and she smiled as she felt the warmth of the sunlight.

"_Sunlight on the rice_..." she whispered, raising the sword over her head so that its blade caught the light, her voice growing progressively louder.

"_The wind blows free through Kanna_..."

_Mamorimasu_'s blade shone brighter than the sun, gleaming with a light all its own. Then she opened her eyes and stared straight into the sun, her voice reaching a deafening shout that could be heard even above the roar of the approaching airship.

"_Even kami die..._"

Just as the Capital reached her, Nasami brought the katana down and drove it straight into the ground with all of her might.

And an earthquake hit like the wrath of God.

The ground shook like a snapped carpet, and dust and debris were hurled several feet into the air. The peasants on the other side of the ravine staggered and swayed, many of them dropped their weapons as they slipped and fell. Several cried out in horror, but none louder than Shino, for as though struck by a divine fist, the far side of the canyon cracked and shuddered, then collapsed, widening the ravine to at least two times its original size...

... sending the Capital airship plunging down to the canyon floor, and Nasami along with it.

"_SENSEI_!" Shino screamed, clawing desperately to get free as Gozaku and Yohei grabbed her, restraining her from lunging forward after Nasami, her anguished cry lost in the roar of the explosion as the Capital airship and the samuraiko vanished in a white-hot ball of flame. "_SENSEI_, NOOOOOOOO!"

_To be continued_...


	50. As the World Falls Down

_Note: I owe a nod to EK for this chapter. And she probably knows why. __And to Shade... sorry (log in before reviewing next time so I can reply to you!). But take heart - Kyuzo's story is not yet over - keep your eyes open for a new M-rated story of mine at the start of October once I finish up with this one._

_Anyway, this chapter is the inspiration for the art piece "As the World Falls Down," one of five pictures I commissioned from an artist friend of mine based on scenes from 'The Sword of the Soul' and some of its companion tales. By the time this chapter is published, I hope to see the artwork for "As the World Falls Down" completed for it. (The rough sketch was just lovely...)_

_"As the World Falls Down" was the other chapter in which the music I wanted didn't quite exist, so I created another remix. Originally, I had reversed the music for this chapter and the music for the chapter that follows, but the more I listened to them, the more I realized that they needed to be switched around. This time, the music is courtesy of the John Williams score for "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Go me._

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Fifty_

The farmers of Kanna were all gathered at the edge of the canyon, staring at the widened ravine and the wreckage of the Capital ship below them. More than a few of them were in tears, while several of them were embracing each other for having survived.

"Is... is it over?" Manzo asked, looking at the others, who were looking around them still in shock at their narrow escape. He dropped to his knees, his weapon slipping from numbed fingers.

"I think so," Mosuke said faintly. "For a moment, I didn't think we were going to make it..."

"I know," Gozaku agreed, his voice sad. "But then I saw Kikuchiyo-_sama_ and Nasami-_sama_... standing there on the other side..."

"What was that... that Nasami-_sama_ did, anyway?" Yohei wondered aloud, staring at the destruction on the far side of the ravine. "I saw her raise her sword... and then..."

Shino was kneeling on the ground, her face in her hands, surrounded by her friends who were trying to console the farm girl after the loss of her _sensei_. At Yohei's question, she looked up, tears on her cheeks.

"_Sunlight on the rice_," she said softly, her voice carrying in the stillness. "_The wind blows free through Kanna... even kami_ -" her voice choked on the last word - "... _die_."

Everyone turned to look at her.

"What did you say?" Gozaku asked.

"A poem," Shino whispered, her eyes dark with memory. "It was a poem... what _sensei_ was shouting. Like a prayer to Lady Sun. That was the very last thing _sensei_ said before she..."

"She was right, though," Gozaku told Shino, coming over to rest a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Nasami-_sama_ vowed that the Capital wouldn't cross the ravine, not as long as even one of the samurai still lived. She _kept_ that promise, Shino, she and the other samurai. And... and I know it sounds strange, but... I think that's the way she would have _wanted_ it to be."

All the peasants, every single one, bowed their heads in sorrow.

"I wonder... if any of the samurai survived," Yohei murmured, clutching his bow closer to him.

"Lay down your weapons," the Elder told them as he watched the smoke billow up from the canyon. "This war is finally over."

* * *

With a faint groan, Kambei shoved upward on the deckplating that had landed on him and Shichiroji, sheltering them from the worst of the damage. Both of them looked and felt as though they had been run over by the Capital before it had crashed into the ravine, but the cool breeze on their cheeks felt incredibly good at that moment. Together they had ridden the Capital right up to the edge of the canyon, slicing and hacking at everything they could find to try and disable the airship before leaping off the side toward the ground below. At first, neither of them had been certain they would even make it, for no sooner had they jumped than one of the airship's fuel cells had exploded, throwing off their jumps and sending them hurtling downward. Only quick thinking on Shichiroji's part had saved them, for he'd used his grappling hand to slow their fall enough to avoid breaking their necks. 

However, they had no time to rest, for just then a huge Raiden appeared from the debris, shouting in defiance, but then the last of its power cells gave out and it collapsed with an almighty crash into the dirt and lay still. The two samurai watched cautiously, making certain that the bandit wasn't using its fall as a ruse, but after several seconds, it became clear that it was dead.

A sudden clatter had their hands going to their swords once again, when Katsushiro surged out from beneath the debris. "Come out, Nobuseri! Where are you?" he shouted in fury, whirling around, his katana in hand. His eyes were huge in his face, his entire body twitching and shaking from the rush of adrenaline that was coursing through him.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!" he screamed, but suddenly a hand reached out and caught his wrist, stilling his wild swings.

Kambei.

"The Nobuseri are dead, Katsushiro, and the Capital is no more," he said softly, staring down at the young man.

For a moment, Katsushiro stared up at Kambei with unseeing eyes, and then his knees gave out and he sank to the ground, shaking, drawing in fast and shallow breaths.

"You did well today, Katsushiro," Kambei told him quietly, looking down at him. "You should be proud of yourself and your skills."

Katsushiro, however, did not look at him, the memories of what he had done in the Capital still too fresh in his mind.

"Does this mean... I can stop living now?" he said, his voice faint, and Kambei started in surprise. "You said you needed me to keep living until this job was done. But the Capital has been destroyed, and the bandits are all dead. So... what use is there for me now? What reason do I have to go on?"

Kambei did not speak, but his gaze was caught by the sight of Komachi and Kirara standing by the bridge, staring at the devastation that had so nearly destroyed their homes and their lives.

"There is your reason, Katsushiro," he murmured, and the young samurai lifted his head and followed his gaze.

Shichiroji sighed and returned to Kambei's side from where he had been making a quick search of the battlefield, looking for other survivors. Of all of the samurai, he knew in his heart which one Kambei had hoped had survived the whole ordeal, but there was no sign of Nasami. "I couldn't find her," he told his former commander, his voice hoarse. "I'm sorry, Kambei-_sama_."

"But it appears _we_ have survived yet again," Kambei said quietly, staring at the destruction around them.

"Yeah, I guess we have," Shichiroji agreed, also looking around them.

* * *

Standing near the ravine, Komachi was clutching Kikuchiyo's scroll to her chest, her eyes huge in her face as tears spilled down her cheeks. 

"_You were the first person who ever accepted me as a samurai... who believed in me. So I want you to have my most valuable possession. Keep it safe for me, and I'll be back for it. I promise._"

She tried desperately to hold back her tears, to be strong, but as Kirara approached and took the girl in her arms, Komachi began to sob, and Kirara along with her.

"He... he promised!" Komachi wailed at last. "He promised he'd come back!"

"I know, darling," Kirara wept, stroking her hair. "I know..."

"How could he... leave me behind?" The girl's sobs were punctuated by gasps and sniffles, "He never... even... said goodbye!"

Kirara's only answer was to hold her little sister tighter.

Before them, beside the remains of the Zankanto, all that was left of the big machine samurai was his boots.

* * *

From far below them came the faintest sound of shifting rock, barely audible above the crackle of the flames and the last echoes of the explosion. 

Then a hand appeared, clawing its way toward the light.

Sobbing in pain, Nasami dragged herself out from beneath the boulders and rubble that had landed on her. Her armor was shattered in a dozen places, her face and body covered in bruises, burns, gashes and blood. She lay on her side, gasping in deep breaths of air and coughing up blood, trying to shut out the pain that racked her body. One hand flailed on the ground beside her, moving back and forth as though searching for something, but then, drawn by some deeper instinct, her fingertips brushed away some of the smaller stones and dirt to reveal _Mamorimasu_ beneath the debris, and her fingers curled around the pommel and dragged the sword toward her to clutch it to her chest.

As she twisted her body to try and stand, however, she was unable to hold back a cry of agony as she felt the bones of her hip and pelvis shift painfully inside of her. Gritting her teeth, she pulled her saya from the obi at her waist, slid the sword back into its sheath, forced herself to roll over onto her stomach, and began to drag herself along the ground by her hands. Inch by inch, she pulled herself along toward the path that led up toward Kanna Village, ignoring the pain that raced through her body, and the chilling numbness that was spreading upward from her feet and legs.

"I... will... not... give... up..." she gasped, digging in with her small hands and continuing to pull herself along. The muscles in her arms burned with the effort, as she dragged herself across the mud.

Then her fingers closed around red fabric, and she froze in horror.

"No... No, oh no..."

Desperately she crawled forward and shoved debris aside until she had uncovered Kyuzo's body.

"No, _please_..." the samuraiko begged, lifting him into her arms and shaking him, even as her eyes filled with tears at the sight of his body riddled with gunshots, blood trickling from his mouth. "Not Kyuzo... oh, blessed Lady Sun, _no_..."

Heedless of the blood and her own pain, she cradled him to her and rested her cheek against his fair hair, rocking back and forth as she would a child, weeping openly.

"It can't be," she whispered, then all at once, she was screaming, her pain and anguish and rage overwhelming her all at once. "NOOOOOOOO!"

"Nasami-_dono_!"

While walking back to Kanna Village, Katsushiro had heard Nasami's scream echoing up through the canyon. Racing down the winding path to the canyon floor, he dashed over to her, but he stopped when he saw her holding Kyuzo in her arms and sobbing.

"Nasami-_dono_?" he said again, carefully approaching her, and she looked up at him through her tears, relief spreading across her face.

"Katsushiro... you're alive..." she said hoarsely, still holding Kyuzo to her. "Thank the heavens... I was so afraid that you and the others wouldn't make it out before the Capital went down..."

Her eyes moved past him, searching for the other samurai, but there was no one else. "W-where is everyone else? Are they all right?" When he didn't speak, the samuraiko's face paled beneath the dirt and the blood. "Katsushiro, _please_... tell me! _Are they all right?_"

Katsushiro said nothing, his eyes on the samurai in Nasami's arms. Three times now, he had watched a fellow samurai die, men he considered his friends and companions. Guilt threatened to smother him - Gorobei had been killed protecting Katsushiro and the other samurai, then Katsushiro hadn't been fast enough to save Heihachi's life, and finally his own desperation to save Kambei had directly resulted in Kyuzo's death. Unable to look Nasami in the eyes, Katsushiro turned away and stared into the distance.

When Katsushiro didn't answer, Nasami's face went absolutely white, and closed her eyes and turned away, resting her cheek against Kyuzo's hair once more as fresh tears spilled down her face.

Katsushiro turned back to her and took a step forward, but a sense of absolute inadequacy filled him, and he realized that nothing he said or did could take away the samuraiko's grief, so without a word, he turned and fled.

"_But I fear that this time, the cost will be higher than even you can pay, my sister_."  
"_How? How can it be greater than the cost from before? I felt as though my soul had been rent in two, my heart in shattered fragments_."  
"_But you still had your honor, and you still had your life_."

The memory of Yoshio's words rang painfully through Nasami's mind as she held Kyuzo to her. Somewhere in the back of her thoughts, she knew that she should keep moving, continue trying to reach Kanna... anything to keep from thinking about the fact that Kambei was dead. But it was just entirely too tempting to remain where she was, to let the cold and the emptiness consume her, and she realized that her brother had been right. Now, she had nothing - not her honor, not her heart, and depending on her injuries, not even her life.

Once before, Nasami had lain on a battlefield like this one, weakened and dying, and she had implored Amaterasu to let her die and join the man she had loved. Now here she was again, in much the same state, but it seemed that this time, Lady Sun had seen fit to answer her prayer, and exhausted, she lay Kyuzo's body back down and stretched out beside him as best she could to wait for death.

For a long, long time, Nasami half-knelt, half-lay in the mud at Kyuzo's side, when she became aware of a hand resting on her shoulder. Dully, she turned her head to look down at it, thinking Katsushiro had returned, or maybe one of the farmers had arrived to investigate the wreckage.

But the samuraiko's eyes became enormous in her pale, drawn face when she saw the delicately inked tattoo on the back of the hand that rested there.

"_Odd... I would never have guessed you were hiding these. But I suppose I'm not the only one with walls, am I?_"

Hardly daring to let herself hope, she turned her head to look behind her at the samurai who was standing there, covered in blood but still very much alive.

"Kambei?" she whispered, disbelief and grief and hope all mingled in her voice, and he nodded, kneeling down beside her.

Oblivious to the physical pain that racked her body, she turned and fell into his arms, sobbing his name. Tears ran freely down Kambei's face as well as he held her tightly, burying his face in her long hair.

"I thought you were dead," she wept, clutching his robes in her fists. "Oh, God... I wanted to die..."

"Never," he rasped, stroking her hair and pulling her closer. "I'll never let you go, love... I swear it by everything I hold sacred in this life."

For an instant, the samuraiko froze, then she moved away long enough to look up at him. "What did you just say?"

"I left you behind, and I never told you... And for all I know, I may lose you again for telling you, but... I promised Kyuzo-_dono_, just before he died, that I would tell you I..." He reached up and gently brushed the back of his hand against her cheek, never taking his eyes from hers, and Nasami went absolutely still. "I love you, _anata_."

Nasami stared at him for a long moment, then she reached up and pulled his mouth down to hers hard in a fierce and desperate kiss, her tears mingling with his.

"Oh, God... Kambei..."

For a few minutes, everything became gloriously incoherent, until they both heard a low chuckle nearby.

"Well, it's about time that _somebody_ came to their senses around here."

Immediately Kambei and Nasami broke apart and turned to see Shichiroji leaning on his staff nearby, a wide grin on his face. Despite her tears, Nasami laughed in relief at seeing the blond samurai alive and well.

"Oh, for the love of... I finally get him to loosen up and you show up! Don't you have somewhere else you have to be?" she called out, reaching down and throwing a handful of mud at him.

"Nope, but don't feel the need to stop on my account," he said cheerfully, and Kambei chuckled.

"Your timing is impeccable as always, Shichiroji."

Getting to his feet, he reached down to pull Nasami up as well, but when she cried out in pain, Kambei let go of her, and she nearly fell facefirst into the mud. "What's wrong?"

"I..." she winced, lying on her side and pressing her hands against her pelvis. "I can't walk."

In a flash, Kambei was on his knees beside her again, with Shichiroji on her other side, checking her legs for injuries.

"Great samurai!" they heard, and all of them turned to see Rikichi standing on the path, with Komachi, Kirara, and Sanae close behind him. The four villagers came running down the path, skidding to a halt at the sight of Shichiroji and Kambei, but then their mouths fell open at the sight of the samuraiko.

"My God," Rikichi whispered, dropping to his knees beside Kambei. "I was certain you were dead when you went up against the Capital with Kikuchiyo-_sama_."

"She's not out of danger yet, Rikichi," Kambei told him somberly, while Kirara, Sanae, and Komachi stared with wide and worried eyes. "I'll need your help to build her a litter and carry her up to Kanna."

"Of course." Rikichi leapt to his feet to salvage what they needed from the wreckage around them, while Komachi and Sanae helped.

* * *

As Shichiroji carefully took one of Nasami's ankles in his hand and moved it, however, she cried out again, and he heard a distinctly unpleasant clicking sound. 

"Nasami, I'm sorry, this may hurt," he said, and cautiously, with help from Kambei and Kirara, he turned the samuraiko onto her side. Gently he placed one hand just below her stomach, the other in the small of her back. As his fingers probed, he was horrified to feel that her hip had been dislocated. Moving as carefully as he could, Shichiroji felt for the bone underneath, and his breath caught in shock as he felt not one solid bone, but several fragments.

Her pelvis had apparently been shattered, and as for her spine...

His eyes flashed to Kambei's, and he saw that the other samurai had just realized the exact same thing.

"What's wrong?" Kirara asked, catching the glance that passed between them, and wondering suddenly why she felt so cold inside.

"Can you feel this?" Kambei asked Nasami in concern, digging his fingers into the muscles of her calves, then just above her knees. Her eyes wide with horror, Nasami shook her head.

"No..."

_To be continued_...


	51. The Choices We Make

_Note: After all the excitement, chaos, and heartbreak of the last several chapters, writing "The Choices We Make" was surprisingly cathartic. Yes, the samurai have won, and Kanna Village is safe... but the cost was much,_ much _higher than any of them ever dreamed. And yet, somehow I_ truly _believe that if given the choice, Nasami would do it all over again._

_Some of you may recognize the poem that Nasami quotes to Kambei from Chapter One of my story "Dancing with Snowflakes."_

_It was that ideal that led me to the music for this chapter - "The Confession" from James Horner's exquisite score for "The Name of the Rose."_

* * *

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Chapter Fifty-One_

"We'll need to take her to the Metal City in the Shikimoribito's caverns," Kambei told Shichiroji as they carried Nasami up the path back to Kanna Village.

"Are you sure, great samurai?" Rikichi asked, taking care not to jostle the makeshift litter they had created to carry the samuraiko. "Travelling that far might do her more harm than good."

"With her injuries, she'll need more medical treatment than Kanna Village can provide," Shichiroji said grimly. "It's a chance we'll have to take. As it is..."

The blond samurai glanced down at Nasami, who had mercifully fallen unconscious. "Even if she survives... she may never walk again."

As the three came up the path that led into the village, most of the farmers came running, offering to help.

"Shichiroji, you and Rikichi get that transport ready to go," Kambei ordered. "Yohei, Gozaku, take over for Rikichi and Shichiroji." With great care, the two farmers took hold of the ends of the litter and followed Rikichi and Shichiroji to the transport that the Shikimoribito had lent to them. Just then, Shino came running over, calling Nasami's name, but she skidded to a halt at the sight of her _sensei_ so bruised and battered. She turned pleading eyes to Kambei.

"Will she be all right?"

"I don't know, Shino. It is in Amaterasu's hands now."

"I'll come too, great samurai," Kirara offered, and she climbed up onto the deck of the transport.

All of the villagers gathered around to help, some bringing extra blankets to cover the deck with, others offering clean bandages or water. Glaring around her, as though defying one of them to stop her, Shino pulled herself up onto the deck and stood beside Kirara, then Shichiroji and Kambei clambered up into the transport as well.

"Just hold on, Nasami," Kambei murmured to her as Yohei and Gozaku gently laid her down on the deck. "You'll be fine..."

Nasami's eyes opened, slightly unfocused from the painkillers that Kambei and Shichiroji had given her a little while earlier. "Wait... where... is Komachi?"

"I'll fetch her, great samurai," Kirara said softly, climbing back down from the transport to get her younger sister. A minute or two later, the two girls arrived, and Komachi knelt beside Nasami, who gently stroked the child's hair. For a moment, her gaze rested on the scroll that Komachi still held to her chest, and her eyes misted with tears, then she lifted her gaze to meet Komachi's.

"I... I'm supposed to give you... a message," the samuraiko murmured, swallowing hard. "From Kikuchiyo..."

Komachi's eyes went wide, and she sniffed back tears. "From Kiku? For me?"

Nasami nodded slowly, and her eyes drifted shut again, but she forced them open so she could see Komachi's face.

"I want you to know... how he died. He died like a samurai, Komachi. He took up that Zankanto... all by himself... took on the Capital alone... to give me more time."

Nasami took the girl's hand in hers and squeezed it.

"Then he said... 'You tell Komachi that I love her, okay? Promise me that...' And I did... I promised him... that I would tell you."

Tears slowly began to trickle down Komachi's face, but she never took her eyes from Nasami's. "Kiku... Kiku said that he loved me?"

"Yes," the samuraiko whispered, her eyes closing once more as exhaustion overwhelmed her. "That samurai... loved you, Komachi... never... ever... forget..."

Then she sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

The ride to the caverns of the Guardians went much faster than Kambei and Shichiroji had originally thought, now that there was no need to hide from bandits or the Capital. Nasami was in a daze during most of it, although Kambei had insisted that Kirara and Shino talk to her the entire time, concerned that the samuraiko's injuries might be more than they appeared. 

As they approached the mouth of the caverns nearest to Kanna, however, they were startled to see several of the Shikimoribito standing near the entrance.

"We had deployed scouts to watch your battle with the Capital," one of the Guardians said when he saw the puzzled expression on Kambei's face.

"We were hoping you could provide medical assistance to Nasami-_san_," Kambei explained, carefully leaping down from the transport. "She was badly injured during the battle, and I fear that... her injuries may be more serious than we can tell."

Two of the Guardians climbed up onto the deck of the transport, where Shino immediately shrank away from them in fear. Kirara and Shichiroji, however, stayed at the woman's side while the two Shikimoribito carefully studied Nasami's wounds.

"We will do what we can for her, but it will take some time," one of them told Shichiroji, who nodded.

"We understand. We'll stay as long as it takes."

"Very well. Follow us, then." The Guardians jumped down to join their comrades, and they turned to enter the caverns. Kambei climbed back up to stand beside Shichiroji, who steered the transport in after them. After several minutes' flight, they arrived at the Metal City, and the Guardians called out directions to Shichiroji to dock at the City. Several other Guardians approached and unloaded the litter on which Nasami lay, and then bore her toward a large structure.

"Our medical facilities," one of the Guardians explained as he, Kambei, Shichiroji, Kirara, and Shino followed. "Here, we treat those who are injured during our work with the energy cells, as well as cybernetic enhancement on those who have suffered loss of limb." The Guardian glanced down at Shichiroji's right arm. "In the meantime, what can you tell us about her wounds?"

Kambei and Shichiroji quickly filled the Guardians in on what they already knew, as well as what they suspected, while Nasami was taken into an operating room. While they had wanted to remain with her, her friends knew that there was little they could do besides get in the way, so they waited outside, pacing anxiously as the hours crept by.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the Guardians' doctors emerged.

"How is she?" Kirara asked anxiously.

"Her injuries were far more extensive than we had initially suspected," one of the doctors admitted. "Your original assessment was correct. Her pelvis was shattered during the fall, and her spine seriously damaged. Additionally, both legs were broken in several places, as well as three of her ribs. Unfortunately, there was also significant hemorrhaging-"

Shino's face went ashen, but Kambei had only one question.

"Will she survive?"

"We do not yet know," one of the other doctors said quietly. "The next twelve hours will decide her fate."

"Even if she survives," Shichiroji asked after a long pause, "will she... will she be able to walk again?"

The Guardians said nothing.

* * *

The next twelve hours seemed to last an eternity for Kambei, Shichiroji, Kirara, and Shino. They had been allowed to take turns sitting with the samuraiko as she lay unconscious. 

During her turn, Kirara had tried to use her crystal as she had so long ago in Kougakyo, but no matter how hard she prayed, or how much she sang, there was no miracle like there had been before, and finally she gave up, rested her head on her arms, and cried.

During his turn, Shichiroji had sat holding Nasami's hand in his metal one, wondering if she could even feel the pressure of his touch, wondering if Nasami would accept cybernetic limbs like he had. And he wondered if it turned out she would never walk again, if the samuraiko would even want to live.

During her turn, Shino had sat beside Nasami and just watched her, as though trying to give back to the samuraiko all of the strength and power she had gained during her training with Nasami.

During his turn, Kambei had sat beside Nasami, holding her hand in his, stroking her forehead, and praying like he never had before in his life.

"Blessed Amaterasu, save her," he whispered over and over, unaware of the tears in his eyes as he watched the woman asleep on the bed. "I love her..."

* * *

Sometime in the middle of the night, Kambei had fallen asleep by Nasami's side, but he slowly came awake when he had the feeling someone was watching him. 

Turning, he looked over his shoulder, and to his considerable surprise, saw Honoka and Mizuki standing in the doorway.

"We didn't mean to intrude, great samurai," Honoka said softly, "but we had heard about what happened, and we wanted to see her."

"Of course, please come in," Kambei replied, and the two women approached. Honoka drew in a sharp breath when she saw the samuraiko. "I-I had no idea. Oh, great Kambei, I'm so sorry..."

"Don't... be..." came a faint voice, and Kambei looked down to see Nasami's eyes were open, and a faint smile playing around her mouth. "I'm... still alive... I think..."

"Yes, love, you are." The relief in Kambei's voice was evident, and Nasami's gaze went to Mizuki, who was watching the two of them with wide eyes.

"You... must be... Honoka's sister. Pleasure... to meet you... at last," the samuraiko murmured.

Just then, Shichiroji, Shino, and Kirara came in, drawn by the sound of voices, and immediately they joined the three others around Nasami's bed.

"So you decided to hang in there, huh?" Shichiroji teased, ruffling Nasami's hair. "Good thing, too. He'd have been hell to live with otherwise." He tilted his head to indicate Kambei, who shot him a look.

Nasami's attention, however, was on her legs, and she was frowning. Then she looked up at Kambei. "What... exactly happened to me?"

"Your injuries were quite extensive, samurai," came the voice of one of the Guardians, and the group turned to see one standing in the doorway. "However, you were lucky that you did not lose both of your legs after the injuries you sustained."

"Will I be able... to walk again?"

"In time, perhaps. For now, your body has much healing left to do. We are confident that with your... determination, you will soon be on your feet. But... you will never again be able to move as freely as you did before."

For a moment, the samuraiko's head fell back against the pillows, and she closed her eyes to blink back the unexpected tears. But she drew in a deep breath, and with her eyes still closed, reached out for Kambei's hand and squeezed it hard.

"A small price to pay... for my life and my heart," she whispered. "But I want to recuperate... in Kanna Village."

"We suspected as much," said the Shikimoribito, and Shichiroji would have sworn he heard amusement in the Guardian's voice. "Supplies are being prepared for you as we speak. You will be free to leave the day after tomorrow."

* * *

Two days later, the small group returned to Kanna Village, where with the help of Kambei and the rest, Nasami began the long, hard road toward recovery. Many times, Kambei or Shichiroji had to carry her if she needed to get anywhere in a hurry, a fact that she loudly complained about. To everyone's surprise, however, the samuraiko could often be found sitting by the window beside Sanae in peaceable companionship, neither woman saying anything, but simply enjoying the fresh air together, a fact that Rikichi was grateful for, for it showed that his wife was slowly coming out of her shell of pain and loneliness. 

Kirara often came by with books for Nasami to enjoy, but to the water priestess' surprise, Nasami soon began teaching Shino how to read. Shortly after that, Sanae asked to learn more, then Komachi and Okara, and after a while, the samuraiko was teaching classes to anyone who wanted to learn.

Then came the first snowfall, and Nasami insisted on going outside to enjoy it, so Kambei lifted her into his arms and carried her outside.

"_'Snow drifts around her  
Frail and fragile winter flowers  
That die as they fall_...'"

Nasami's voice was soft, and her eyes wistful as she watched the whirling and dancing snowflakes, and Kambei caught the faint sadness there. "What is it?"

"Oh... I was just remembering something. A few years ago, I was at Winter Court along with my companions. It was a beautiful day, the sunlight sparkling on the snow like a million scattered diamonds." Her eyes became softer with the memory. "I was outside, practicing kata in the snow, and a friend of mine was there, watching me. She later described it in a poem, that I was dancing with the snowflakes, never touching a single one with my blade."

Her face fell. "And now here I am, unable to even walk, let alone dance."

"Give it time, _anata_. You've been trying every day, pushing yourself, and every day you've been getting stronger." He held her a little closer. "Besides, how can I argue when I get to hold you like this?"

She lightly whacked him in the arm. "I was kidding about that whole 'waiting on me hand and foot while I convalesce' thing."

"I wasn't," he said simply.

* * *

A few days later, Kirara was seated inside her home, preparing the evening meal when she heard her grandmother enter the main room from the small shrine room they kept separated from the rest of the house. 

"Grandmother..."

"Are you certain of this? Passing the dowsing crystal to Komachi?" Tetsu asked, taking a seat beside her granddaughter, her eyes going to the girl's bare wrist. After the battle against the Capital, Kirara had surrendered her position as Mikumari, and the dowsing crystal now rested in front of the family shrine, to be handed down to another.

"You've seen it, too... my days as priestess are over," Kirara said softly, stirring the soup and then covering the kettle to let it simmer for a while. As strange as it felt not to wear the crystal at her wrist like she had for so long, she knew that as long as the waters within her were tainted and cloudy, she could not serve as she wished to, or as the water spirits deserved.

"You mean the tainting of the water," Tetsu remarked, following Kirara's train of thought. "Yes... I've seen it."

"It symbolizes my impurity, my sins from this war." Kirara looked away, remembering a long-ago afternoon in the rain and blood on her hands... remembering a moonlit desert and footsteps walking away... remembering a shadowy alley and warm lips on hers.

"My dear girl, it's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself and think!" Tetsu urged. "Do you really want to make this decision?"

Unable to sit still, Kirara rose to her feet and walked to the window, but even the peaceful sight of Kanna Village draped in snow did not bring her ease. A loud shout drew her attention, and she saw Katsushiro practicing in the snow not too far away, going through a series of training maneuvers while Nasami sat nearby, offering instructions and gentle encouragement. On the other side of Nasami was Shino, her naginata in her hand, moving through the graceful steps of the kata Nasami had taught her.

Leaning against the window, Kirara stared at the young samurai, her eyes moving down his bare chest to rest on the bandage that encircled his ribs where he'd been injured during his rampage against the Nobuseri. The muscles on his body were becoming more evident as he trained most of the day and sometimes half the night, honing his skills under the samuraiko's instructions, and even the roundness of his face was giving way to a firmness of strength that reflected his growing confidence and character.

"_You could come with me, Kirara_..."  
"_Do not wait for me_..."  
"_I hope that one day I will find someone who looks at me the way Katsushiro looks at Kirara_."  
"_Be true to your heart, Kirara_..."

More confused than ever before, Kirara yanked out the dowel that kept the window open, and it slammed shut with a bang, sending snow cascading off the roof onto the ground.

* * *

As the winter passed, although most of the villagers were enjoying the peace and the idle time between planting and harvesting, Nasami continued to keep herself busy, whether exercising to regain the use of her legs, or instructing Shino and Katsushiro in the way of the warrior. Whenever she could, Nasami would escape outside to enjoy the air, sometimes astonishing the villagers by remaining seated or kneeling while still practicing the slow graceful motion of kata. At Katsushiro's insistence, she taught him the art of iaijutsu, the fast draw technique, and soon he was able to slice through the stands of bamboo that Okara and Komachi had set up for him with barely even a thought. 

But on many a night, Katsushiro and Shino would visit Rikichi's house where the samuraiko was staying during her convalescence, and sit beside her for hours at a time as she told stories of the wars she had fought, or listened intently as she shared some of what she learned during her years of wandering the Empire.

Only once did Kambei ask Nasami why she had taken up the challenge of formally instructing Katsushiro, and she had quietly shrugged and replied, "If not me, then who? And if not now, then when?"

But as casual as her answer had been, the samurai had seen the flash of pain and regret in her eyes, and suddenly, he understood that this was Nasami's way of coming to terms with the fact that she might never again truly wield a sword... but if she could not, she would leave behind others who could.

Kambei had not asked again.

* * *

Slowly, the gentle touch of winter began to fade away, giving way to the first subtle hints of spring. While snow still occasionally dusted the ground, occasionally flowers could be seen blooming on a tree branch or near the river. As the weather began to warm, Katsushiro found himself tossing and turning one night, unable to sleep. For the last several nights, he had been haunted by dreams, and try as he might, he could not banish them from his thoughts, so he rose from his pallet, dressed, and walked outside. 

As if drawn there, he approached the cliff where the graves of Gorobei, Heihachi, Kikuchiyo, and Kyuzo lay. But then he gave a start as he found Nasami seated there in quiet meditation, her head bowed and her hair silvered in the moonlight.

She lifted her head at his approach and smiled. "You couldn't sleep either, hmm?"

"No." He stood beside her, looking down at the graves, and she patted the ground beside her.

"Come sit by me." As Katsushiro sat, she turned to face him. "You're thinking of leaving, aren't you? Now that the snows have begun to melt and the roads are clear."

He nodded somberly. "Yes... now that the village is truly safe, and the bandits are defeated, there's nothing for me here anymore. It's not that I don't appreciate your instruction... you've taught me so much more than I can ever begin to express, but..."

The young samurai lifted his gaze to the moon, his eyes filled with a sudden longing.

"... there's so much more out there I want to learn, to understand." He looked at her. "Something like... what you did when you spent all those years travelling the Empire. I want to see different places, learn the lessons that I can't learn here."

The samuraiko smiled and rested her hand on his shoulder. "I understand. There always comes a time when the student outgrows the teacher, and you have done remarkably well in these few short months, Katsushiro. So I will only wish you well." Then she reached into the folds of her robes and drew forth a piece of rice paper. "Which reminds me... this is for you."

"What is it?" he asked, taking it and peering at it in the moonlight. Meticulously inked in Nasami's strong calligraphy was a map and some names, plus the mark that he recognized as her personal seal.

"Something that might help you on your way," she said simply, then she grinned. "Speaking of which, do you mind helping me up?"

Katsushiro realized that beside Nasami on the ground were a pair of crutches. "Nasami-_dono_, you mean you can..."

"Walk? No, not yet," she said, her voice slightly sad. "But hopefully soon. And it's not that far to Rikichi's from here, and thankfully it's all downhill." Katsushiro stood, and then crouched down and wrapped one arm around the samuraiko's waist, marvelling at how light she was. Cautiously she balanced her weight on the crutches, her feet barely touching the ground.

"I won't say goodbye, though," Nasami told him. "For something tells me that we will be meeting again, and soon."

"I hope so, Nasami-_dono_," Katsushiro said sincerely. "I truly do." Then he sank to his knees, and bowed low before her, as he had before Kambei so long ago in Kougakyo. "You have taught me more than I ever dreamed, shown me so much. Thank you for all that you have done for me... _sensei_."

Tears came to the samuraiko's eyes at Katsushiro's words, and she was unable to speak, but as Katsushiro lifted his head and his eyes met hers, he knew what words she would have said, and he smiled at her.

She turned and made her faltering way toward the trees, pausing only long enough to look back at him. When she was gone, Katsushiro rose to his feet, and turned back to face the graves once more so that he might bid farewell to his fallen friends, when he became aware of another presence behind him.

Kirara.

"I swore I'd protect you, but for a long time, I was the one being protected," he murmured without turning around, and he heard the girl's faint gasp. "You told me that we'd fall together, and you will never know how much strength that gave me."

Kirara could hear the goodbye in his voice, and suddenly it hit her all at once that she didn't want him to go, but he went on.

"The scent of battle... to please you, I yearned for it." He turned around to face her, his voice calm, but inside, his heart ached at the sight of her beloved face. "But to get it... I had to deny my heart." It was true - to become the samurai she had needed him, wanted him to be, he had been forced to discard the passions and yearnings he had carried for so long. And while in the end, it made him a better samurai for having done so... it made loving her no easier to bear.

And she knew it. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her face, and one lone tear fell on her wrist where her dowsing crystal used to rest. The realization of what she had lost broke Kirara's heart within her, and she bowed her head and wept.

Katsushiro's eyes, however, were drawn past her to movement near the edge of the woods, and saw Kambei and Shichiroji approaching.

"Are we interrupting?" Kambei asked softly.

Katsushiro shook his head, while Kirara turned away and rubbed the tears from her face, embarrassed at being caught crying.

"All this time, _sensei_, I've wondered what it was you saw in me. What made you choose _me_ as the fifth samurai. And with every battle, every wound, I got a little closer to the truth."

He was staring up at the moon, but in his mind, he was seeing a lamplit room in an inn, with warm shadows on the walls and fireflies dancing beyond the open doors. Katsushiro and Kambei had not truly spoken with one another since the night they had argued in the Firefly House, when truths had been thrown at one another and words spoken that could never be taken back. But after months of thinking about all that he had learned, not only from Nasami but from Kambei, Katsushiro thought he finally understood the intention behind the words.

"You told me once not to value death... you told me to live on and to finish what I'd begun. And yet..." He looked down at the graves at his feet. "These brave men who had nothing to gain from this war, who did give their lives in the defense of Kanna... aren't _they_ the most noble samurai of us all?"

"Do you feel ashamed for surviving?" Kambei asked him softly, and Katsushiro turned to look at him.

"Do _you_?"

Kambei thought that one over. A long time ago in Kougakyo, when he had first met the young samurai and the peasants who had dared to fight the Nobuseri, he had originally turned them down because of the weight of his past - the battles he'd lost, the death of Shiori, the life he'd been forced to lead.

"_Every battle I've fought in, I've lost. If I did go to your village, I would only lose again... I'm merely an empty shell, a shameful remnant that lives long after it has served its use_."

But one thing, more than anything else, kept him going, and without realizing it, his hand moved to the inside of his robes where a long tress of white hair rested against his heart.

"No," he admitted. "Not any more."

"Neither do I," Katsushiro replied. "It means I can fight new battles, find more chances to honor their names..."

His eyes dropped, and he knew what it was that Kambei was holding, and what the other samurai was thinking.

"... just as you have, and as you will, _sensei_."

Like Nasami before him, Kambei bowed his head at the title. Then, driven by a sudden urge he could not explain, he stepped forward and lifted his katana from his side, holding it parallel to the ground as an offering to the young samurai in the ancient _gempukku_ tradition.

"I pass this to you," he murmured, and Shichiroji gave a faint gasp.

Katsushiro was no less stunned at the honor he was being given, and all he could do was lift reverent hands and accept the katana with a deep bow. Then with great care, he hung it at his side as he had seen Kambei do so many times.

"I'll use it well," he vowed softly, and with bows to Kambei, Kirara, and Shichiroji, he began to walk away. In his mind, he was already travelling the open road, following the idea that Nasami had set before him, wondering what new chances were before him...

... and trying not to think about what he was leaving behind.

Shichiroji watched Katsushiro leave, silently wishing the young man well.

Kirara watched Katsushiro leave, her heart calling out to him and her steps half-poised to follow him.

Only Kambei did not turn, his eyes instead on the four graves before him, but he sensed Kirara's motion and shook his head.

"Let him go, Kirara."

"But I-" Her right hand covered her left wrist, still instinctively seeking comfort from the dowsing crystal that she no longer wore, and her body trembled from unshed tears. "I..."

She held her hands out imploringly, as though reaching for Katsushiro, calling out to him silently. She prayed with all her heart that like so many times before, he would somehow sense her gaze, hear the words she didn't speak, but the young samurai never looked back as he disappeared into the shadows.

_To be concluded_...


	52. Epilogue

_Note: At long last, it's over. Almost a full year after I began writing "The Sword of the Soul," I sat at my computer with my face in my hands, and just cried after typing the last words of the story. Part of me wanted it to just go on and on (and it_ has _gone on and on, hasn't it?), but there comes a time when the story must end. But do the really good stories ever_ truly _end? (Assuming, of course, this_ is _a really good story!) I love the lines from THE LAST UNICORN._

_Prince Lir: "The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story."  
Molly: "But what if there isn't a happy ending at all?"  
Schmendrick: "There are no happy endings... because nothing ends."_

_The last piece of music for the story is the heartbreakingly lovely track from the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA score, called "Evacuating London."_

_To everyone who has followed along with my ramblings and so ardently cheered me on, without your support, your encouragement, your reviews and criticisms and suggestions, this story would_ never _have been completed. To all of you, my humblest, deepest, and most heartfelt thanks._

**

* * *

**

**The Sword of the Soul**

_Epilogue - The end of all meetings, partings... the end of all strivings, peace._

"Strange, isn't it?" Shichiroji murmured, looking back over his shoulder as he watched the farmers plant and sing while he and Kambei walked along, leaving Kanna behind them. "Before they hated what they were doing because it all went to the bandits and the samurai. Now they love it, because for once, they can enjoy the fruits of their own labor."

"Mmm. Ironic that in this instance, the spoils of war are vibrant with life," Kambei agreed, looking back as well. He absently massaged the scar on his arm. "Death turns to life, as the cycle must go on."

"Quoting philosophy, _sensei_?" came a voice from up ahead, and both men turned to see Katsushiro approaching.

"Katsushiro, you're back!" Shichiroji exclaimed with a broad grin, placing a hand on the younger samurai's shoulder. Kambei also smiled, and bowed slightly to Katsushiro, who returned the bow politely, and all three stood and watched the farmers walk among the rice.

"So what brings you back to Kanna?" the blond samurai asked. "Last I'd heard, you'd headed off to find new battles to fight, new chances..."

"And I found them," Katsushiro replied, watching the farmers work. "After leaving all of you, I found service with a lord, one of the daimyo of a nearby province. However, I have one last debt of honor remaining, and I needed to return to Kanna to pay it. So my daimyo has allowed me the time to journey here."

"And do you find it easier now to walk the samurai path?" Kambei's question made Katsushiro turn to look at him.

The young man thought for a little while, and then nodded. "Yes... yes, I do."

"Then I am truly pleased for you," Kambei said softly, and he meant it. "You have grown much while I've known you, Katsushiro-_san_, and more so since you left."

"_Sensei_… I wonder… if I might have a word with you before I return to Kanna," the young samurai said hesitantly.

"Of course, Katsushiro-_san_," Kambei murmured. "Lead the way."

The two samurai left Shichiroji standing at the base of the hill and walked slowly up to where four graves lay, swords proudly standing as markers. For a long time, they stood and gazed at them, memories turning over and over in their minds of battle, pain, honor, and glory.

Kambei waited patiently for the young man to speak, but Katsushiro just stared silently at the graves, swallowing hard.

"You look quite serious, Katsushiro."

Katsushiro did not hear him; his gaze had moved past the four graves and was focused on the rice paddies below, where he could see Kirara singing and planting along with the other peasants.

"Why did you stay, _sensei_?" The question was blurted out, before Katsushiro could stop himself. He flushed guiltily and stared at the ground, clenching his fists.

"What do you mean?"

"Did... did you stay here because of..."

The white-clad samurai sighed heavily, not bothering to pretend that he didn't know who Katsushiro was talking about. "No."

That was clearly not the answer Katsushiro expected to hear, and his head came up in surprise. "N-no?"

"No."

"But… but why?"

"Why what?"

"Why stay here? We defeated the Nobuseri, as we set out to do, so why remain here in Kanna so long if not for Lady Kirara?"

"It was not for Kirara that I remained here, Katsushiro." Kambei ran his fingers through his long hair, tightening some of it in his grip in a rare gesture of frustration. "For one, I am far too old for her. For another, though she may deny it, her calling as priestess is not yet done. And for a third…"

He suddenly lifted his head as though catching a scent, and then turned to glance toward the edge of the forest. Katsushiro followed his gaze, and saw a woman, dressed much like Kambei, standing at the woods' edge.

Nasami.

"Of course," Katsushiro said softly, looking slowly from the white-haired woman to the man beside him and back again as Nasami approached, her limping gait more pronounced than before. Although he had watched Kambei struggle for months not to let himself get involved with the samuraiko, after she had almost been killed fighting the Capital, Kambei had rarely, if ever, left Nasami's side. At first, Katsushiro had wondered if it was guilt that kept the older samurai with her, or companionship, or even just an excuse to remain near Kirara, but now he realized that Kambei did truly love the samuraiko.

"Yes," the other samurai said easily. "Only samurai can ever understand what other samurai feel, think, and need. Kirara, while a good and loving girl, can never truly accept the scent of war for what it is…"

"… whereas Nasami-_dono_ can," Katsushiro finished. "Because it is as much a part of her as it is for us."

* * *

The samuraiko came to stand beside them and bowed. "Katsushiro-_san_, Kambei-_san_." Then she turned and bowed low to the graves, then with great difficulty, knelt down. The two men saw tears in her eyes as she touched each grave in turn, whispering the name of the samurai who lay buried there. For a long time, none of them spoke as Nasami silently communed with the spirits of the dead. Katsushiro watched her hands shake as she paused and rested her hands on Kyuzo's grave, her eyes on the swords that stood proudly with pommels crossed, then she bowed her head and swallowed her tears. 

Then at last she rose to her feet and turned back to the two samurai.

"It is so good to see you again, Katsushiro," she said warmly, holding out her hands to the young man, who took them in his own.

"And you." His eyes went to her legs, remembering how she had spent months unable to walk. "And it's such a relief to see that you're able to walk again! After that last injury of yours..."

"I know," she replied with feeling. "There were times when I didn't think I would ever take another step, but thanks be to Amaterasu, it finally healed." The samuraiko grinned. "So what brings you here? You left... what, a little over two months ago?"

"Yes, I did. I... I actually came here to thank you, Nasami-_dono_," Katsushiro said shyly. "It was most generous of you to convince Shujiro-_sama_, your daimyo, to offer me a place in his guard."

"It was nothing," she said softly. "A samurai must forever prove himself, and you needed some place to start."

"Still..." Katsushiro began, but she held up one hand to stop him.

"You need not thank me. All you need do is serve with honor, and I will be more than satisfied."

Katsushiro grinned at her. "I will, Nasami-_dono_. I will. I promise." Then he looked over at Kambei, who was watching them both with a faint smile.

"Why weren't you invited to join as well, _sensei_?" the young samurai asked.

"Former commanders don't always do well as bodyguards," Kambei said wryly. "But as it turns out, the daimyo did offer me something else instead, something that was... more meaningful for me, one might say."

Nasami grinned, but then her smile faded as she looked back at the graves.

"It isn't easy, is it?" she asked, turning once again to Katsushiro, who looked puzzled at her question. "Bearing the weight of what it means to be samurai. Knowing that the souls of the slain will follow you forever."

He stepped back, startled by her perception, and she nodded. "You will learn to live with it, as I have… as we all did." She gestured toward the graves behind her. "But as long as you remember how to live, even amongst the dead, then the flame of bushido will ever burn brightly within you."

Katsushiro nodded, and gently, Nasami rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Do not grieve for what is not your doing, Katsushiro," she whispered, seeing the pain in the young man's eyes. "And do not mourn for what is not dead."

"I don't understand," he replied, looking between her and Kambei in frustration and anger. "I never understand, why can't I understand?"

"What do you not understand?" Kambei asked quietly, knowing that at last the questions that had been tearing Katsushiro apart inside would finally be asked.

"I… I can't understand why they had to die! I can't understand why I survived, when I'm not even samurai! I can't understand why, when I kill, part of me glories in it, and part of me dies inside! I can't understand why I love her, and yet she doesn't love me!"

The last sentence came out all at once in a shout, echoing down the hill in the stillness of the afternoon.

Nasami and Kambei stood still and watched as Katsushiro turned away, trying hard to contain bitter tears.

"Katsushiro…" Kambei began, but the young man cut him off.

"Shichiroji-_dono_ has Yukino. Rikichi has Sanae. Kikuchiyo-_dono_ had Komachi, even though she was just a child. Even you… who told Kirara that you were too old for her… you still found someone. All of you are just like me, covered in the scent of war, the smell of the battlefield. But all of you found someone who could accept you. And I'm alone."

Nasami sighed. "Oh, Katsushiro…" She watched him close his eyes and his shoulders heave as he tried desperately to contain the agony consuming him. Then she walked slowly around him to stand before him and took his hands in hers.

"Listen to me," she whispered. "Listen, with your heart, if not with your head. Listen well. It is never wrong to love, Katsushiro. _Never_. Even if that love is not returned. For I once loved as you did, and I knew it would never be returned, not as I longed for it to be. But I would not trade a single moment of that love, for all its heartbreak and anguish."

Katsushiro was startled, and his eyes flashed up to meet hers.

"You… you loved someone who didn't love you?" Katsushiro said in amazement, his own misery temporarily forgotten.

Nasami nodded sadly. "Oh, yes."

"But… what samurai would not wish for one such as you?"

"For years, as I traveled the Empire, I fought and lived by the side of a man who walked through my dreams and rested in my heart. As a pair, we were remarkably well-suited for one another, and yet… I was never more than a companion to him. To make things harder, the more renowned we became in our exploits, the less likely my chances became of ever wedding him, even in the name of political alliance."

Katsushiro was puzzled for a moment, and then his eyes widened. "Mirumoto Kuroshin."

Nasami's eyes were filled with memory and sorrow. "Yes. And then... came the day that... I stood beside him at court, watching as a woman entered the room. Graceful, lovely, educated, and gentle. In that instant, the look in his eyes changed, and something was there that I had never seen before... and would never see again in my lifetime. And I could see, in that instant, that Kuroshin had lost his heart forever. I stood there and wept inside, where no one could see. Least of all, him. And then years later, when Kuroshin died on the Night of Dark Fire, I wanted nothing more than to die along with him. I begged Lady Sun to let me die, but instead, I went on living..."

Then her eyes turned to Kambei, and the pain in them receded. "But perhaps it was for the best. 'The river of Fate cuts a strange and winding path.'"

Katsushiro frowned slightly. "But I seem to remember that you once said, 'For a samurai, to love is to be forever at war with yourself.'"

Abruptly, Nasami smiled. "And yet... when are samurai happiest but when they have new battles to fight?" Then her smile became slightly sad. "Besides, you already have a new battle, but how you fight it will be up to you."

She turned back to Katsushiro. "And perhaps one day… Kirara will cease looking for what could be, and accept what is."

Nasami leaned forward, cupping Katsushiro's cheek in her hand, and gently kissed him on the forehead, and the young man accepted it like a benediction. "Oh, Katsushiro," she whispered against his skin, no longer bothering to hold back her own tears. He embraced her tightly, and her arms went around him as Kambei watched. "I wish you joy, and love, with all my heart."

"And to you, Nasami-_dono_." He released her, and stepped back.

"It is good that you returned, actually," Nasami went on. "Any later and you would have missed us. Yukino-_san_ misses her Momotaro, after all, and I... I have finally found the understanding I was looking for. It is time for me to return home."

Katsushiro straightened. "Then I humbly ask that I be allowed to accompany you on your journey. Not that I don't think you can't take care of yourself," he added hurriedly, "but..."

Nasami chuckled. "I understand. And yes, your company would be appreciated. It will be interesting to see what you have learned in the meantime."

His hand tightened for a moment on his katana – the one that Kambei had given to him. Then his eyes widened as he realized that Kambei was again wearing a sword, but this one looked remarkably familiar.

"_Sensei_… that sword…"

Then Katsushiro glanced at a grinning Nasami, who rested her hand on the identical katana in her obi. He looked back at the sword at Kambei's side.

"Is… is that…"

"Yes. The katana _Sememasu_, the other sword forged when _Mamorimasu_ was first created."

"You mean..." The young samurai stared in astonishment, first at the sword, then at Kambei and Nasami.

Kambei smiled and lightly touched it.

"A gift from Shujiro-_sama_. Nasami's father."

As Katsushiro's mouth fell open, Nasami couldn't stop laughing.

_**- The End -**_


End file.
